3L, I B PI .A. It "ST
PBINCETdX. X. J.
Collins Donation.
J 'C.»V^^*'tft«hfin Collins Uonat
BX 9315 .m 1850 V.5
Owen, John, 1616-1683.
The works of John Owen
THE
WORKS
JOHN OWEN, D.D.
EDITED
BY THE REV. WILLIAM H. GOOLD,
EDINBURGH.
VOL. V.
l^EW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,
285 BROADWAY.
M.DCCC.U.
CONTENTS OF VOL Y.
THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
Pa'53
Prefatouy Note by the Editor ........ 2
To the Reader 3
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
PREVIOUS UNTO THE EXPLANATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION.
First, The general nature of justification — State of the person to be justified ante-
cedently thereunto, Rom. iv. 5, iii. 19, i. .32; Gal. iii. 10; John iii. 18, 36; Gal.
iii. 22 — The sole inquiry on that state — Whether it be any thing that is our otvii
inherently, or what is only imputed unto us, that we are to trust unto for our
acceptance with God — The sum of this inquiry — The proper ends of teaching
and learning the doctrine of justification— Things to be avoided therein . . 7
Secondly, A due consideration of God, the Judge of all, necessary unto the right stat-
ing and apprehension of the doctrine of justification, Rom. yiii. 33; Isa. xliii. 25,
xlv. 25 ; Ts. cxliii. 2 ; Rom. iii. 20 — What thoughts will be ingenerated hereby
in the minds of men, Isa. xxxiii. 14; Micah vi. 6, 7; Isa. vi. 5 — The plea of Job
against his friends, and before God, not the same, Job xl. 3-5, xlii. 4-6 — Direc-
tions for visiting the sick given of old — Testimonies of Jerome and Ambrose —
Sense of men in their prayers, Dan. ix. 7, IS; Ps. cxliii. 2, cxxx. 3,4 — Paraphrase
of Austin on that place — Prayer of Pelagius — Public liturgies . . .13
TniKDLY, A due sense of our apostasy from God, the depravation of our natm-e
thereby, with the power and guilt of sin, the holiness of the law, necessary luito
a right understanding of the doctrine of justification — Method of the apostle to
this puiTJose, Rom. i. ii. iii. — Grounds of the ancient and present Pclagianisra,
in the denial of these things — Instances thereof— Boasting of perfection fi'om
the same ground — Knowledge of sin and grace mutually promote each other . 20
Fourthly, Opposition between works and grace, as unto justification — Method of
the apostle, in the Epistle to the Romans, to manifest this opposition — A scheme
of others contrary thereunto — Testimonies witnessing this opposition — Judg-
ment to be made on them — Distinctions whereby they are evaded — The useless-
ness of them — Resolution of the case in hand by Kellarmine, Dan. ix. IS; J^uko
xvii. 10 . . . .24
IV CONTENTS.
Fifthly, A commutation as unto sin and righteoiisness, by imputation, between
Clu-ist and believers, represented in the Scripture — The ordinance of the scape-
goat. Lev. xvi. 21,22 — The nature of expiatory sacrifices, Lev. iv. 29, etc. — Expia-
tion of an uncertain murder, Dent. xxi. 1-9 — The commutation intended proved
and vindicated, Isa. liii. 5, (5 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Rom. viii. 3, 4 ; GaL iii. 1.3, 14 ;
1 Pet. ii. 24; Deut. xxi. 23 — Testimonies of Justin Martyr, Gregory Nyssen,
Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard, Taulerus, Pighius, to that purpose — The pro-
per actings of faith with respect thereunto, Rom. v. 1 1 ; Matt. xi. 28 ; Ps. xxxviii.
4; Gen. iv. 13 ; Isa liii. 11 ; Gal. iii. 1 ; Isa. xlv. 22 ; John iii. 14, 15— A bold
calumny answered . . . . . .34
Sixthly, Introduction of gi'ace by Jesus Christ into the whole of our relation unto
God, and its respect unto all the parts of our obedience — No mystery of gi-ace in
tlie covenant of works — All religion originally commensurate unto reason — No
notions of natural light concerning the introduction of the mediation of Christ
and mystery of grace, into our relation to God, Eph i. 17-19 — Reason, as cor-
rupted, can have no notions of religion but what are derived from its piimitive
state — Hence the mysteries of the gospel esteemed folly — Reason, as con-upted,
repugnant unto the mystery of gi-ace — Accommodation of spiritual mysteries
unto corrupt reason, wherefore acceptabje unto many — Reasons of it— Two pai-ts
of corriipted nature's repugnancy unto the mystery of the gospel : — 1. That which
would rediice it unto the private reason of men — Thence the Trinity denied,
and the incarnation of the Son of God ; without Avhich the doctrine of justifi-
cation cannot stand — Rule of the Socinians in the interpretation of the Scrip-
ture. 2. \^'ant of a due comprehension of the harmony that is between all the
parts of the mystery of grace — This harmony proved — Compared with the har-
mony in the works of nature — To be studied — But it is learned only of them
who arc taught of God ; and in experience — Evil effects of the want of a due
comprehension hereof — Instances of them — All applied unto the doctrine of jus-
tification .......... 44
Seventhly, General prejudices against the imputation of the righteousness of Chi-ist :
— 1. That it is not in terms found in the Scriptm'e, answered. 2. That nothing
is said of it in the writings of the evangelists, answered, John xx. 30, 31 —
Natu^'C of Christ's personal ministry — Revelations Tiy the Holy Spiiit imme-
diately from Christ — Design of the writings of the evangelists. 3. Diflerences
among Protestants themselves about this doctrine, answered — Sense of the an-
cients herein — What is of real difference among Protestants, considered . 55
Eighthly, Influence of the doctrine of justification into the first Reformation — Ad-
vantages unto the woi-ld by that Reformation — State of the consciences of men
under the Papacy, with respect unto justification before God — Alterations made
therein by the light of this doctrine, though not received — Alterations in the
Pagan unbelieving world by the introduction of Christianity — Design and suc-
cess of the first reformers herein — Attempts for reconciliation with the Papists
in this doctrine, and their success — Remainders of the ignorance of tlie truth
in the Roinan church — LTnavoidable consequences of the corruption of this doc-
tiine ........... 64
CHAPTER I.
Justification liy faith generally acknowledged — The meaning of it perverted — The
nature and use of faith in justification proposed to consideration— Distinctions
about it waived — A twofold faith of the gospel expressed in the Scripture — Faith
that is not justifying. Acts viii. 13; John ii. 23, 24; Luke viii. 13; Matt. vii.
22, 23 — Historical faith ; whence it is so called, and the natuic of it — Degrees of
assent in it— Justification not ascribed unto any degree of it — A calumny ob-
viated— The causes of true saving faith — Conviction of sin previous unto it —
CONTENTS. V
Pnge
The nature of legal conviction, and its effects — Arguments to prove it antecedent
unto faith — Without the consideration of it, the true nature of faith not to be
understood — Tlie order and relation of the law and gospel, Rom. i. 17 — In-
stance of Adam — Eifects of conviction — Internal : Uisplicency and sorrow ; fear
of punishment ; desire of deliverance — External: Abstinence from sin ; perform-
ance of duties; reformation of life — Not conditions of justification ; not for-
mal dispositions unto it; not moral preparations for it — The order of God
in justification — The proper object of justifying faith — Not all divine verity
equally; proved by sundry arguments — The pardon of our own sins, whether
the first object of faith — The Lord Christ in the work of mediation, as the ordi-
nance of God for the recovery of lost sinners, the proper object of justifying faith
— The position explained and proved, Acts x. 43, xvi. 31, iv. 12; Luke xxiv.
25-27; John i. 12, iii. 1(5, 36, vi. 29, 47, vii. 38; Acts xxvi. 18; CoL ii. 6; Rom
iii. 24, 25; 1 Cor. i. 30; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Eph. i. 7, 8; 2 Cor. v. 19 . . .70
OHAPTER II.
The natui'e of justifj'ing faith in particular, or of faith in the exercise of it, whereby
we are justified — The heart's approbation of the way of the justification and
salvation of sinners by Christ, with its acquiescency therein — The description
given, explained and confirmed: — 1. From the nature of the gospel — Exemplified
in its contrary, or the nature of unbelief, Prov. i. 30 ; Heb. ii. 3 ; 1 Pet. ii. 7 ;
1 Cor. i. 23, 24; 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4 — What it is, and wherein it doth consist. 2. The
design of God in and by the gospel— His own glory his utmost end in all things
— The gloiy of his righteousness, grace, love, wisdom, etc. — The end of God in
the way of the salvation of sinners by Christ, Rom. iii. 25; John iii. 16; 1 John
iii. 16; Eph. i. 5, 6; 1 Cor. i. 24; Eph. iii. 10; Rom. i. 16, iv. 16; Eph. iii. 9;
2 Cor. iv. 6. 3. The nature of faith thence declared — Faith alone ascribes and
gives this glory to God. 4. Order of the acts of faith, or the method in believing
— Convictions previous thereunto — Sincere assent unto all divine revelations,
Acts xxvi. 27 — The proposal of the gospel unto that end, Rom. x. 11-17; 2 Cor.
iii. 18, etc. — State of persons called to believe — Justifying faith doth not consist
in any one single habit or act of the mind or will — The nature of that assent
which is the first act of faith — Approbation of the way of salvation by C'hi-ist,
comprehensive of the special nature of justifying faith — What is included thei'e-
in : — 1. A renunciation of all other ways, Hos. xiv. 2, 3 ; Jer. iii. 23 ; Ps. Ixxi. 16 ;
Rom. X. 3. 2. Consent of the will unto this way, John xiv. 6. 3. Acquiescency of
the heart in Gal, 1 Pet. i. 21. 4. Trust in God. 5. Faith described by trust —
Tlie reason of it — Nature and object of this tinist inquired into — A double con-
sideration of special mercy — Whether obedience be included in the nature of
faith, or be of the essence of it — A sincere purpose of universal obedience in-
separable from faith — How faith alone justifieth — Repentance, how required in
and unto justification — How a condition of the new covenant — Perseverance in
obedience is so also — Definitions of faith . . . . . .93
CHAPTER III.
Use of faith in justification ; various conceptions about it — By whom asserted as
the instrument of it ; by whom denied — In what sense it is affirmed so to be —
The expressions of the Scripture concerning the use of faith in justification ;
what they are, and how they are best explained by an instrumental cause —
Faith, how the instrument of God in justification — How the instrument of them
that do believe — The use of faith expressed in the Scripture by apprehending,
receiving; declared by an instrument — Faith, in what sense the condition of
our justification — Signification of that tenn, whence to be learned . . 107
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
The proper sense of these words, justification, and to justify, considered — Necessity
thereof— Latin derivation of justification — Some of the ancients deceived by it
— From "jus," and "justum; " "Justus filius," Avho— The Hebrew P"'"^"— Use
and signification of it— Places where it is used examined, 2 Sara. xv. 4; Deut.
XXV. 1 ; Prov. xvii. 1 5 ; Isa. v. 23, 1. 8, 9 ; 1 Kings viii. 31, 32 ; 2 Chron. vi. 22, 23 ;
Ps. Ixxxii. 3; Exod. xxiii. 7; Job sxvii. 5; Isa. liii. 11; Gen. xliv. 16; Dan.
xii. 3 — The constant sense of the word eYinced— AixaiSu, use of it in other au-
thors, to punish— What it is in the New Testament, Matt. xi. 19, xii. 37; Luke
vii. 29, X. 29, xvi. 15, xviii. 14; Acts xiii. 38, 39; Rom. ii. 13, iii. 4— Constantly
used in a forensic sense— Places seeming dubious, vindicated, Rom. viii. 30;
1 Cor. vi. 11; Tit. iii. 5-7; Rev. xxii. 11 — How often these words, hzaiia and
iizaioV/x.xi, are used in the New Testament— Constant sense of this— The same
evinced from what is opposed unto it, Isa. 1. 8, 9 ; Prov. xvii. 15 ; Rom. v. 16, 18,
viii. 33, 34 — And the declaration of it in terms equivalent, Rom. iv. 6, 11,
v. 9, 10 ; 2 Cor. v. 20, 21 ; Matt. i. 21 ; Acts xiii. 39 ; Gal. ii. 16, etc.— Justification
in the Scripture, proposed under a juridical scheme, and of a forensic title—
The parts and progress of it— Inferences from the whole . . . 1 23
CHAPTER V.
Distinction of a first and second justification— The whole doctrine of the Roman
church concerning justification gi-ounded on this distinction— The first justifi-
cation, the nature and causes of it, according unto the Romanists — The second
justification, what it is in their sense— Solution of the seeming diiference be-
tween Paul and James, falsely pretended by this distinction — The same dis-
tinction received by the Socinians and others— The latter termed by some the
continuation of our justification — The distinction dispi-ovcd- Justification con-
sidered, either as xmto its essence or its manifestation — The manifestation of it
twofold, initial and final— Initial is either unto ourselves or others— No second
justification hence ensues— Justification before God, legal and evangelical —
Their distinct natures— The distinction mentioned derogatory to the merit of
Christ — More in it ascribed unto om'selves than unto the blood of Chri.st, in
our justification — The vanity of disputations to this pui-pose— All true justifi-
cation overthrown by this distinction — No countenance given unto this justifi-
cation in the Scripture — The second justification not intended by the apostle
James— Evil of arbitrary distinctions — Our first justification so described in
the Scriptui-e as to leave no room for a second — Of the continuation of our jus-
tification; whether it depend on faith alone, or our personal righteousness,
inquired— Justification at once completed, in all the causes and elfects of it,
proved at large — Believers, upon their justification, obliged unto perfect obe-
dience— The commanding power of the law constitutes the nature of sin in them
who are not obnoxious unto its curse— Future sins, in what sense remitted at
our first justification — The continuation of actual pardon, and thereby of a
justified estate; on what it doth depend — Continuation of justification, the act
of God; whereon it depends in that sense — On o\ir pai-t, it depends on faith
alone— Nothing required hei-eunto but the application of righteousness imputed
— The continuation of our justification is before God— That whereon the con-
tinuation of our justification depends, pleadable before God — This not our per-
sonal obedience, proved : — 1. By the experience of all believers ; 2. Testimonies
of Scripture ; 3. Examples— The distinction mentioned rejected . . . 137
CHAPTER YI.
Evangelical personal righteousness ; the nature and use of it — Whether there be an
evangelical justification on our evangelical righteousness, inquired into — How
this is by some affirmed and applauded— Evangelical personal righteousness
CONTENTS. VI r
asserted as the condition of our legal righteoiisness, or the pardon of sin— Opi-
nion of the Socinians— Personal righteousness required in the gospel— Believers
hence denominated righteous— Not with respect unto righteousness habitual,
but actual only— Inherent righteousness the same with sanctification, or holi-
ness—In what sense we may be said to be justified by inherent righteousness-
No evangelical justification on our personal righteousness — The imputation of
the righteousness of Christ doth not depend thereon— None have this righteous-
ness, but they are antecedently justified- A charge before God, in all justifica-
tion before God— The instrument of this charge, the law or the gospel— From
neither of them can we be justified by this personal righteousness— The justifi-
cation pretended needless and useless— It hath not the nature of any justifica-
tion mentioned in the Scripture, but is contrary to all that is so called— Other
ai'guments to the same piirpose- Sentential justification at the last day— Nature
of the last judgment— Who shall be then justified— A declaration of righteous-
ness, and an actual admission into glory, the whole of justification at the last
day— The argument that we are justified in this life in the same manner, and
on the same grounds, as we shall be judged at the last day, that judgment being
according unto works, answered ; and the impertinency of it declaimed . , 152
CHAPTER YII.
Imputation, and the nature of it — The first express record of justification deter-
mineth it to be by imputation. Gen. xv. 6 — Reasons of it— The doctrine of im-
putation cleared by Paul ; the occasion of it— Maligned and opposed by many
— Weight of the doctrine concerning imputation of righteousness, on all hands
acknowledged — Judgment of the Refoi'med churches herein, particularly of the
church of England — By whom opposed, and on what grounds— Signification of
the word— DiflTerence between " reputare" and " imputare" — Imputation of two
kinds: — 1. Of what was ours antecedently unto that imputation, whether good
or evil— Instances in both kinds — Nature of this imputation — The thing im-
puted by it, imputed for what it is, and nothing else. 2. Of what is not ours
antecedently unto that imputation, but is made so by it — General natvire of this
imputation — Not judging of others to have done what they have not done-
Several distinct grounds and reasons of this imputation:—!. "Ex justitia;"
(1.) " Propter relationem foederalem ; " (2.) " Pi-opter relationem naturalem."
2. "Ex voluntaria sponsione "—Instances, Philem. 18, Gen. xliii. 9 — Voluntary
sponsion, the ground of the imputation of sin to Christ. 3. " Ex injui-ia," 1 Kings
i. 21. 4. " Ex mera gratia," Rom. iv. — Difference between the imputation of any
works of ours, and of the righteousness of God— Imputation of inherent righ-
teousness is "ex justitia" — Inconsistency of it with that wliich is "ex mera
gratia," Rom. xi. 6 — Agreement of both kinds of imputation — The true nature
of the imputation of righteousness unto justification explained— Imputation of
the righteousness of Christ — The thing itself imputed, not the eflect of it ; proved
against the Socinians ......... 162
CHAPTER Vni.
Imputation of sin unto Christ — Testimonies of the ancients unto that pui-pose —
Christ and the church one mystical person — Mistakes about that state and
relation— Grounds and reasons of the imion that is the foimdation of this
imputation — Christ the surety of the new covenant; in what sense, unto what
ends — Heb. vii. 22, opened — Mistakes about the causes and ends of the death of
Christ — The new covenant, in what sense alone procured and purchased thereby
— Inquiry Avhcther the guilt of our sins was imputed unto Christ — The meaning
of the words, "guilt," and "guilty" — The distinction of "reatus culptu," and
"reatus poensc," examined — Act of God in the imputation of the guilt of our
sins unto Christ — Objections against it answered — The ti-uth confirmed . . 175
VIII CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER IX.
Principal controversies about justification: — 1. Concerning the nature of justifica-
tion, stated; 2. Of the formal cause of it; 3. Of the way whereby we are made
partakers of the benefits of the mediation of Christ — What intended by the
formal cause of justification, declared — The righteousness on the account whereof
believers are justified before God alone, inquired after under these terms — This
the righteousness of Christ, imputed unto them — Occasions of exceptions and
objections against this doctrine — General objections examined — Imputation of
the righteousness of Christ consistent with the free pardon of sin, and with the
necessity of evangelical repentance — Method of God's grace in our justification
— Necessity of faith uato justification, on supposition of the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ — Grounds of that necessity — Other objections, arising
mostly from mistakes of the tnith, asserted, discussed, and answered . . 205
CHAPTER X.
Arguments for justification liy the imputation of the righteousness of Christ — Our
own personal righteousness not that on the account whereof wc are justified in
the sight of God — Disclaimed in the Scriptures, as to any such end — The truth
and reality of it granted — Manifold imperfections accompanying it, rendering it
unmeet to be a righteousness tmto the justification of life .... 223
CHAPTER XL
Nature of the obedience or righteousness reqviired unto justification — Original and
causes of the law of creation — Thcsubstance and end of that law — The immu-
tability or unchangeableness of it, considered absolutely, and as it was the
instmment of the covenant between God and man — i\.rguments to prove it un-
changeable ; and its obligation imto the righteousness first required pci'petually
in force — Therefore not abrogated, not dispensed withal, not derogated from,
• but aoe«fflpliaUed — This alone by Chi'ist, and the imputation of his righteous-
ness unto us ......... . 240
CHAPTER Xn.
Imputation i)f the obedience of Christ no less necessary than that of his sufi'ering, on
the same ground — Objections against it : — First, That it is impossible — Manage-
ment hereof by Socinus — Ground of this objection, that the Lord Christ was
for himself obliged unto all the obedience he yielded unto (xod, and perforaied
it for himself, answered — The obedience inquired after, the obedience of the
person of Christ the Son of God— In his whole person Chiist was not under
the law — He designed the obedience he performed for us, not for himself —This
actual obedience not necessary as a qualification of his person unto the discharge
of his office — The foundation of this obedience in his being made man, and of
the posterity of Abi'aham, not for himself, but for us — Right of the liumau
nature unto glory, bj' virtue of imiou — Obedience necessary imto the human
nature, as Christ in it was made iinder the law — This obedience properly for us
— Instances of that natui'c among men — Christ obeyed as a public pei'son, and
so not for himself — Human nature of Christ subject unto the law, as an eternal
rule of dependence on God, and subjection to him ; not as prescribed unto us
whilst we are in this world, in order unto our future blessedness or reward —
Second objection. That it is iiseless, answered — He that is pardoned all his sins
is not thereon esteemed to have done all that is required of him — Not to be
unrighteous negatively, not the same with being righteous positively— The law
CONTENTS. IX
Vnge
obligeth both unto piinishracnt jvnd obedience — How, and in what sense — Pardon
of sin gives no title to eternal life — The righteoiisness of Christ, who is one,
imputed unto many — Arguments proving the -imputation of the obedience of
Christ unto the justification of life . . . ' . . .251
CHAPTER XIII.
The diilerence between the two covenants stated — Arguments from thence . . 275
CHAPTEE XIV.
All works whatever expressly excluded from any interest in our justification before
God — What intended by the works of the law — Not those of the ceremonial
law onlj- — Not perfect woi-ks only, as requii'ed by the law of our creation — Not
the outward works of the law, performed without a principle of faith — Not
works of the Jewish law — Not works with a conceit of merit — Not works only
wrought before believing, in the strength of our own wills — Works excluded
absolutely from our justification, without respect unto a distinction of a first
and second justification — The true sense of the law in the apostolical assertion
that none are justified by the works thereof — What the Jews understood by the
law — Distribution of the law under the Old Testament — The whole law a per-
fect rule of all inherent moral or spiritual obedience — What are the works of
the law, declared from the Scripture, and the argument thereby confirmed — The
nature of justifying faith farther declared ...... 278
CHAPTER XV.
Of faith alone .......... 290
CHAPTER XVI.
Testimonies of Scripture confirming the doctrine of justification by the imputation
of the righteousness of Christ — Jer. xxiii. C>, explained and vindicated . . 295
CHAPTER XVII.
Testimonies out of the evangelists considered — Design of our Saviour's sermon on
the moiint— The piirity and penalty of the law vindicated by him — Arguments
from thence — Luke xviii. 9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and publican ex-
plained and applied to tlie present argument— Testimonies out of the Gospel by
John, chap. i. 12, iii. 14-18, etc. ..... .299
CHAPTER XVIII.
Testimonies out of the Epistles of Paul the apostle — His design in the fifth chapter
to the Romans — That design, explained at large, and applied to the present argu-
ment— Chap. iii. 24-26 explained, and the ti-ue sense of the words vindicated —
The causes of justification enumerated — Apostolical inference from the consi-
deration of them — Chap, iv., design of the disputation of the apostle therein —
Analysis of his discourse— Verses 4, 5, particularly insisted on ; their true sense
vindicated — What works excluded from the justification of Abraham — Who it
is that woiketh not — In what sense the ungodly are justified — All men ungodly
antecedently unto their justification — Faith alone the means of justification on
our part — Fiiith itself, absolvitely considered, not the righteousness tliat is im-
puted unto us — ^Proved by sundry arguments ..... a06
X CONTENTS.
Rom. V. 12-21. Boasting excluded in oui'selves, asserted in God— The design and sum
of the apostle's argiiment— Objection of Sociuus reraoTed — Comparison between
the two Adams, and those that derive from them— Sin entered into the world —
What sin intended— Death, what it compriseth, what intended by it— The sense
of these words, " inasmuch," or, " in whom all have sinned," cleared and vindi-
cated— Tlie various oppositinns used by the ajDostle in this discourse : principally
between sin or the fall, and the free gift ; between the disobedience of the one,
and the obedience of another; judgment on the one hand, and justification unto
life on the other — The whole context at large explained, and the argument for
justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, fully confirmed . 321
Rom. X. 3, 4, explained and insisted on to the same purpose .... 338
1 Cor. i. 30. Christ, how of God made righteousness unto us — Answer of Bellar-
mine unto this testimony ^emoved— That of Socinus disproved — True sense of
the words evinced ......... 344
2 Cor. v. 21. In what sense Christ knew no sin — Emphasis in that expression — How
he was made sin for us — By the imputation of sin unto him — Mistakes of some
about this expression — Sense of the ancients — Exception of Bellarmine unto
this testimony answered, with other reasonings of his to the same purpose — The
exceptions of others also removed, ....... 347
Gal. ii. 16 354
Eph. ii. 8-10. Evidence of this testimony— Design of the apostle from the beginning
of the chapter — Method of the apostle in the declaration of the grace of God —
Grace alone the cause of deliverance from a state of sin — Things to be observed
in the assignation of the causes of spiritual deliverance — Grace, how magnified
by him — Force of the argument and evidence from thence— State of the case
here proposed by the apostle — General determination of it, "Bygi-aceare ye
saved" — What is it to be saved, inquired into— The same as to be justified, but
not exclusively— The causes of our justification declared positively and nega-
tively— The whole secui-ed unto the grace of God by Christ, and our interest
therein through faith alone — Works excluded — What works? — Not works of
the law of Moses— Not woi-ks antecedent unto believing — W^orks of time be-
lievers—Not only in opposition to the grace of God, but to faith in us — Argu-
ment from those words — Reason whereon this exclusion of works is founded —
To exclude boasting on our part — Boasting, wherein it consists— Inseparable
from the interest of works in justification — Danger of it— C'onfirmation of this
reason, obviating an objection— 1'he objection stated— If we be not justified by
works, of Avhat use are they ? answered . . _ . . . . 356
Phil. iii. 8, 9. Heads of argument from this testimony— Design of the context —
Righteousness the foundation of acceptance with God — A twofold righteoiisness
considered by the apostle— Opposite unto one anothei-, as unto the especial end
inquired after— Which of these he adhered unto, his OAvn righteousness, or the
righteousness of God; declared by the apostle with vehemency of speech — Rea-
sons of his earnestness herein — The turning-point whereon he left Judaism —
The opposition made unto this doctrine by the Jews— The weight of the doctrine,
and unwillingness of men to receive it— His own sense of sin and grace— Pecu-
liar expressions used in this place, for the reasons mentioned, concerning Christ :
concerning all things that ai'C our ewn — The choice to be made on the case
stated, whether we will adhere unto our own righteousness, or that of Christ's,
which are inconsistent as to tlie end of justification — Argument from this place
— Exceptions unto this testimony, and argument from thence, removed — Our
personal righteousness inherent, the same with respect unto the law and gospel
— External righteousness only required liy the law, an impious imagination —
Works wrought before faith only rejected— The exception removed— Righteous-
ness before conversion, not intended by the apostle .... 363
CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER XIX.
Objections against the doctrine of justification by tlie imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ — Nature of these objections— Difficulty in discerning aright the
sense of some men in this argument — Justification by works, the end of all declen-
sion from the righteousness of Christ — Objections against this doctrine derived
from a supposition thereof alone— First principal objection : Imputed righteous-
ness overthrows the necessity of a holy life— This objection, as managed by them
of the church of Rome, an open calumny — How insisted on by some among
ourselves— Socinus's fierceness in this charge — His foul dishonesty therein —
False charges on men's opinions making way for the rash condemnation of their
persons— Iniquity of such censures — The objection rightly stated— Sufficiently
answered in the previous discoui-ses about the nature of faith, and force of the
moral law — The nature and necessity of evangelical holiness elsewhere pleaded
— Particular, answers unto this objection — All who profess this doctrine do
not exemplify it in their lives — The most holy truths have been abused — None
by whom this doctrine is now denied exceed them in holiness by whom it was
formei'ly professed, and the power of it attested — The contrary docti-ine not
successful in the reformation of the lives of men — The best way to determine
this difference — The same objection managed against the doctrine of the apostle
in his own days — Efficacious prejudices against this doctrine in the minds of
men — The whole doctrine of the apostle liable to be abused — Answer of the
apostle unto this olijection — He never once attempts to answer it by declaring
the necessity of personal righteousness, or good works, unto justification before
God — He confines the cogency of evangelical motives iinto obedience only unto
believers — Grounds of evangelical holiness asserted by him, in compliance with
his docti'ine of justification : — 1. Divine ordination — Exceptions unto this grovmd
removed. 2. Answer of the apostle vindicated — The obligation of the law unto
obedience — Nature of it, and consistency with grace — This answer of the apos-
tle vindicated — Heads of other principles that might be pleaded to the same
purpose .......... 372
CHAPTER XX.
Seeming difference, no real contradiction, between the apostles Paul and James,
concerning justification— This granted by all — Reasons of the seeming differ-
ence—The best rule of the interpretation of places of Scriptui-e wherein there
is an appearing repugnancy — The doctrine of justification according luito that
rule principally to be learned from the writings of Paul — The reasons of his
fulness and accuracy in tlie teaching of that doctrine— The importance of the
truth ; the opposition matle unto it, and abuse of it— The design of the apostle
James — Exceptions of some against the writings of St Paul, scandalous and
unreasonable — Not, in this matter, to be interpreted by the passage in James
insisted on, chap. ii. — That there is no repugnancy between the doctrine of the
two apostles demonstrated — Heads and grounds of the demonstration— Their
scope, design, and end, not the same — That of Paul; the only case stated and
determined by him— The design of the apostle James ; the case proposed by him
quite of another nature— The occasion of the case proposed and stated by him
— No appearance of difference between the apostles, because of the several cases
they speak unto— Not the same faith intended by them— Description of the
faith spoken of by the one, and the other— Bellarmine's arguments to prove
time justifying faitli to be intended by Jamas, answered — Justificution not
treated of by the apostles in the same manner, nor used in the same sense, nor to
the same end— The one treats of justification, as unto its nature and causes; the
other, as unto its signs and evidence— Proved by the instances insisted on— How
XII
CONTENTS.
the Scripture was fulfilled, that Abraham believed in God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness, when he offered his son on the altar — Works the
same, and of the same kind, in both the apostles — Observations on the discourse
of James — No conjunction made by him between faith and works in our justifi-
cation, but an opposition — No distinction of a first and second justification in
him — Justification ascribed by him wholly unto works— In what sense— Docs
not determine how a sinner may be justified before God; but how a professor
may evidence himself so to be — The context opened from verse 14, to the end of
the chapter .•...,....
384
GOSPEL GEOUNDS AND EVIDENCES OF THE
FAITH OF GOD'S ELECT.
Prefatory Note by the Editor .
To the Reader ....
Evidences of the faith of God's elect
The first evidence of the faith of God's elect
The second evidence of the faith of God's elect
The third evidence of the faith of God's elect
The fourth evidence of the faith of God's elect
. 402
. 404
. 405
. 411
. 422
. 436
. 442
THE DOCTRINE
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH,
THROUGH
THE IMPUTATION OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST;
EXPLAINED, CONFIEMED, AND VINDICATED.
Search the rcripturea. — JoH^
PREFATORY NOTE.
There is a pregnant and striking passage in one of the charges of Bishop Horsley,
which may be said to embody the substance and intimate the scope of tlie follow-
ing work on justification, — a work which lias been esteemed oue of the best pro-
ductions of Dr Owen. " That man is justified," says Horsley, " by faith, without
the works of the law, was the uniform doctrine of our first EeCormers. It is a
far more ancient doctrine, — it was the doctrine of the whole colk^ge of apostles;
it is more ancient still, — it was the doctrine of the prophets; it is older than the
prophets, — it was the religion of the patriarchs; and no one who has the least
acquaintance with the writings of the first Reformers will impute to them, more
than to the patriarchs, the prophets, or apostles, the absurd opinion, that any
man leading an impenitent, wicked life, will finally, upou the mere pretence of
faith (and faith connected with au impenitent life must always be a mere pi'etence),
obtain admission into heaven."
Dr Owen, in the "general considerations" with which he opens the discussion
of this momentous subject, shows that the doctrine of justification by faith was
clearly declared in the teaching of the ancient church. Among other testimonies,
he adduces the remarkable extract from the epistle to Diognetus, which, though
commonly printed among the woiks of Justin jNIartyr, has been attributed by
Tillemont to some author in the first century. Augustine, in his contest with
Pelagian error, powerfully advocated the doctrines of ^^race. That he clearly ap-
prehended the nature otjustification by grace appears from the j>rinciple so tersely
enunciated by him, " Opera bona non faciunt justum, scd justificatus facit bona
opera." The controversy, however, in which he was the great champion of ortho-
dox opinions, turned mainly upon tlie renovation of the heart by a divine and
supernatural influence ; not so directly on the change of state effected by justifying
grace. It was the clear apprehension and firm grasp of this doctrine which ulti-
mately emancipated Luther from the thraldom of Ilomish error, and he clung to
it with a zeal proportioned to his conviction of the benefit which his own soul
had derived from it. He restored it to its true place and bearings in tiie Chris-
tian system, and, in emphatic exjiression of its importance, pronounced it " Arti-
culus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiie." It had to encounter, accordingly, strong
opposition from all who were hostile to the theology of the Reformation. Both
Sociuus and Bellarmine wrote against it, — the former discussing the question
in connection with his general argument against orthodox vi.^ws on the subject
of the person and work of Christ ; the latter devoting a separate treatise expressly
to tiie refutation of the doctrine of the Reformed churches regarding justifica-
tion. Several Roman Catholic authors followed in his wake, to whom l)r Owen
alludes in different parts of his work. The ability with which Bellarmine con-
ducted his argument cannot be questioned ; though sometimes, in meeting diffi-
culties and disposing of objections to his views from Scripture, he evinces an
unscrupulous audacity of statement. His work still continues, perhaps, the ablest
and most systematic attempt to overthrow the doctrine of justification by faith.
In supplying an antidote to the subtile disquisitions of the Romish divine, Dr
Owen is in reality vindicating that doctrine at all the jioints where the acumen
of his antagonist had conceived it liable to be assailed with any hope of success.
To counteract the tendency of the religious mind when it proceeded in the direc-
tion of Arminiauism, Calvinistic divines, naturally engrossed with the jjoints in
dispute, dwelt greatly on the workings of efficacious grace in election, regeneration,
and convei'sion, if not to the exclusion of the free offer of the gospel, at least so as
to cast somewhat into the shade the free justification offered in it. The Antino-
mianism which arose during the time of the Commonwealth has been accounted
the reaction from this defect. Under these circumstances, the attention of theolo-
PREFATORY NOTE. 3*
g'lans was again drawn to the doctrine of justification. Dissent could not, in those
times, aflFord to be weakened by divisions; and partly under the influence of his
own pacific dispositions, and partly to accomplish a public service to the cause
of religion, Baxter made an attempt to reconcile the parties at variance, and to
soothe into unity the British churches. Rightly conceiving that the essence of the
question lay in the nature of justification, he published in 164& his "Aphorisms
on Justification," in opposition to the Antinomian tendencies of the day, and yet
designed to accommodate the prevailing differences ; on terms, however, that were
held to compromise tlie gratuitous character of justification. He had unconsci-
ously, by a recoil common in every attempt to reconcile essentially antagonistic
principles, made a transition from the ground of justification by faith, to views
clearly opposed to it. Though his mind was the victim of a false theory, his
heart was practically right; and he subsequently modified and amended his
views. But to his " Aphorisms" Bishop Barlow traces the first departure from
the received doctrine of the Reformed cliurches on the subject of justification. In
1669, Bishop Bull published his " Apostolical Harmony," with the view of recon-
ciling the apostles Paul and James. There is no ambiguity in regard to his views as
to the ground of a sinner's acceptance with God. According to Bull, "faith denotes
the whole condition of the gospel covenant; that is, comprehends in one word all
the works of Christian piety." It is the just remark of Bickersteth, that " under
the cover of justification by faith, this is in reality justification by works."
A host of opponents sprung up in reply to Baxter and Bull; but they were not
left without help in maintaining their position. In support of Baxter, Sir Charles
Wolsley, a baronet of some reputation, who had been a member of Cromwell's
Council of State, and wlio sat in several parliaments after the Restoration, pub-
lished, in 1667, his " Justification Evangelical." In a letter to Mr Humfrey, author
of the " Peaceable Disquisition,'' pnblislied subsequently to Owen's work, and
partly in refutation of it, Sir Charles, referring to Dr Owen, remarks, " I suppose
you know his book of Justification was written particularly against mine." There
is reason to believe that Owen had a wider object in view than the refutation of
any particular treatise. In the preface to his great work, which appeared in 1677,
he assures the reader that, whatever contests pievailed on the subject of justifi-
cation, it was his design to mingle in no personal controversy with any author of
the day. Not that his reasonings had no bearing on the pending disputes, for,
from the brief review Ave have submitted of the history of this discussion, it
is clear that, with all its other excellencies, the work was eminently season-
able and much needed; but he seems to have been under a conviction, that in
refuting specially Socinus and Bellarmine, he was in effect disposing of the most
formidable objections ever urged against the doctrine of justification by grace,
while lie avoided the unpleasantness of personal collision with the Christian men
of his own times whose views might seem to him deeply erroneous on the point;
and the very coincidence of these views, both in principle and tendency, with
Sociuian and Popish heresies, would suggest to his readers, if not a conclusive
argument against tiiem, at least a good reason why they should be carefully
examined before they were embraced. His work, therefore, is not a meagre and
ephemeral contribution to the controversy as it prevailed in his day, and under
an aspect in which it may never again be revived. It is a formal review of the
whole amount of truth revealed to us in regard to the justification of the sinner
before God ; and, if the scope of the treatise is considered, the author cannot be
blamed for prolixity in the treatment of a theme so wide. On his own side of the
question, it is still the most complete discussion in our language of the important
doctrine to which it relates. Exception has been taken to the abstruse defini-
tions and distinctions which he introduces. He had obviously no intention to
offend in this way; for, at the close of chap, xiv., he makes a quaint protest
against the admission of " exotic learning," "philosophical notions," and "arbi-
trary distinctions," into the exposition of spiritual truth. In the refutation of
complicated error, there is sometimes a necessity to track it through various
sinuosities ; but, in the main, the treatise is written in a spirit which proves how
directly the author was resting on divine truth as the basis of his own faith and
hope, and how warily he strove and watched that his mind might not " be cor-
rupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
VOL. V. 1
4* PREFATORY NOTE.
" A curious fact," says Mr Or me, "respecting this book, is mentioned in the
Life of Mr Joseph Williams, of Kidderminster : — 'At last, the time of his (Mr
Grimshawe's, an active clergyman of the Church of England) deUverance came.
At the house of one of his friends he lays his hand on a book, and opens it, with
his face towards a pewter shelf. Instantly his face is saluted with an uncommon
flash of heat. He turns to the title-page, and finds it to be Dr Owen on Justifica-
tion. Immediately he is surprised with such another flash. He borrows the book,
studies it, is led into God's method of justifying the ungodly, hath a new heart
given unto him ; and now, behold, he prayeth ! ' Whether these flashes were electri-
cal or galvanic, as Southey in his Life of Wesley supposes, it deserves to be noticed,
that it was not the fiash but the book which converted Grimshawe. The occurrence
which turned his attention to it, is of importance merely as the second cause, which,
under the mysterious direction of Providence, led to a blessed result."
Analysis. — The causes, object, nature, and use of faith are successively considered,
CHAP. I. -III. The nature of justification is next discussed ; — first, under an inquiry
into the meaning of the different terms commonly employed regarding it ; and,
secondly, by a statement of the juridical and forensic aspect under which it is
represented in Scripture, iv. The theory of a twofold justification, as asserted
by the Church of Rome, and another error which ascribes the initial justification
of the sinner to faith, but the continuance of his state as justified to his own per-
sonal righteousness, are examined, and proved untenable, v. Several arguments
are urged in disproof of a third erroneous theory, broached and supported by
Socinians, that justification depends upon evangelical righteousness as the condi-
tion on which the righteousness of Christ is imputed, vi. A general statement
follows of the nature of imputation, and of the grounds on which imputation pro-
ceeds, VII. A full discussion ensues of the doctrine that sin is imputed to Christ,
grounded upon the mystical union between Christ and the church, the suretiship
of the former in behalf of the church, and the provisions of the new covenant,
viii. The chief controversies in regard to justification are arranged and classi-
fied, and the author fixes on the point relating to the formal cause of justification
as the main theme of the subsequent reasonings, ix.
At this stage, the second division of the treatise may be held to begin, — the
previous disquisitions being more of a preliminary character. The scope of
what follows is to prove that the sinner is justified, through faith, by the imputed
righteousness of Christ. This part of the work embraces four divisions ; — general
arguments for the doctrine affirmed; testimonies from Scripture in support of it;
the refutation of objections to it ; and the reconciliation of the passages in the
Epistles of Paul and James which have appeared to some to be inconsistent.
Under the head of general arguments, he rebuts briefly the general objections
to imputation, and contends for the imputation of Christ's righteousness as the
ground of justification; — first, from the insufficiency of our own righteousness, or,
in other words, from the condition of guilt in which all men are by nature in-
volved, X.; secondly, from the nature of the obedience required unto justification,
according to the eternal obligation of the divine law, xi. ; and, as a subsidiary
and collateral consideration, from the necessity which existed that the precept
of the law should be fulfilled as well as that atonement should be rendered for
the violation of it, — in short, from the active as well as the passive righteousness of
Christ ; and here the three objections of Socinus, that such an imputation of
Christ's obedience is impossible, useless, and pernicious, receive a detailed con-
futation, XII. ; thirdly, from the difference between the two covenants, xiii. ; and
fourthly, from the express terms in which all works are excluded from justifica-
tion in Scripture, XIV.; while faith is exhibited in the gospel as the sole instrument
by which we are interested in the righteousness of Christ, xv. The testimony of
Scripture is then adduced at great length, — passages being quoted and commented
on Irom the prophets, xvi. ; from the evangelists, xvii. ; and from the epistles of
Paul, XVIII. The ohjections to the doctrine of justification are reviewed, and the
cliief objection, — namely, that the doctrine overthrows the necessity of holiness
and subverts moral obligation,- — is repelled by a variety of arguments, xix Lastly,
t!ie concluding chapter is devoted to an explanation of the passages in Paul and
James whicli are alleged to be at variance, but which are proved to be in perfect
liaimony, xx. — Ed.
TO THE READER.
I SHALL not need to detain the reader with an account of the nature and moment
of that doctrine which is the entire subject of the ensuing discourse ; for although
sundry persons, even among ourselves, have various apprehensions concerning it,
yet that the knowledge of the truth therein is of the highest importance unto the
souls of men is on all hands agreed unto. Nor, indeed, is it possible that any man
who knows himself to be a sinner, and obnoxious thereon to the judgment of God,
but he must desire to have some knowledge of it, as that alone whereby the way
of delivery from the evil state and condition wherein he finds himself is revealed.
There are, I confess, multitudes in the world who, although they cannot avoid
some general convictions of sin, as also of the consequents of it, yet do fortify their
minds against a practical admission of such conclusions as, in a just consideration
of things, do necessarily and unavoidably ensue thereon. Such persons, wilfully
deluding themselves with vain hopes and imaginations, do never once seriously
inquire by what way or means they may obtain peace with God and acceptance
before him; which, in comparison of the present enjoyment of the pleasures of sin,
they value not at all. And it is in vain to recommend the doctrine of justification
unto them who neither desire nor endeavour to be justified. But where any
persons are really made sensible of their apostasy from God, of the evil of their
natures and lives, with the dreadful consequences that attend thereon, in the wrath
of God and eternal punishment due unto sin, they cannot well judge themselves
more concerned in any thing than in the knowledge of that divine way whereby
they may be delivered from this condition. And the minds of such persons stand
in no need of arguments to satisfy them in the importance of this doctrine ; their
own concernment in it is sufficient to that purpose. And I shall assure them that,
in the handling of it, from first to last, I have had no other design but only to
inquire diligently into the divine revelation of that way, and those means, with
the causes of them, whereby the conscience of a distressed sinner may attain as-
sured peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I lay more weight on the
steady direction of one soul in this inquiry, than on disappointing the objections of
twenty wrangling or fiery disputers. The question, therefore, unto this purpose
being stated, as the reader will find in the beginning of our discourse, although it
were necessary to spend some time in the explication of the doctrine itself, and
terms wherein it is usually taught, yet the main weight of the whole Ues in the
interpretation of Scripture testimonies, with the application of them unto the
experience of them who do believe, and the state of them who seek after salvation
by Jesus Christ. There are, therefore, some few things that I would desire the
reader to take notice of, that he may receive benefit by the ensuing discourse ; at
least, if it be not his own fault, be freed from prejudices against it, or a vain
opposition unto it.
1 . Although there are at present various contests about the doctrine of jus-
tification, and many books published in the way of controversy about it, yet this
discourse was written with no design to contend with or contradict any, of what
^ TO THE READER.
sort or opinion soever. Some few passages which seem of that tendency are,
indeed, occasionally inserted; but they are such as every candid reader will judge
to have been necessary. I have ascribed no opinion unto any particular person,
— much less wrested the words of any, reflected on their persons, censured their
abilities, taken advantage of presumed prejudices against them, represented their
opinions in the deformed reflections of strained consequences, fancied intended
notions, which their words do not express, nor, candidly interpreted, give any coun-
tenance unto, — or endeavoured the vain pleasure of seeming success in opposition
unto them ; wliich, with the like effects of weakness of mind and disorder of affec-
tions, are the animating principles of many late controversial writings. To declare
and vindicate the truth, unto the instruction and edification of such as love it in
sincerity, to extricate their minds from those difficulties (in this particular instance)
which some endeavour to cast on all gospel mysteries, to direct the consciences of
them that inquire after abiding peace with God, and to establish the minds of them
that do believe, are the things I have aimed at; and an endeavour unto this end,
considering all circumstances, that station which God hath been pleased graciously
to give me in the church, hath made necessary unto me.
2. I have written nothing but what I believe to be true, and useful unto the
promotion of gospel obedience. The reader may not here expect an extraction
of other men's notions, or a collection and improvement of their arguments, either
by artificial reasonings or ornament of style and language ; but a naked inquiry
into the nature of the things treated on, as revealed in the Scripture, and as
evidencing themselves in their power and efficacy on the minds of them that do
believe. It is the practical direction of the consciences of men, in their application
unto God by Jesus Christ for deliverance from the curse due unto the apostate
state, and peace with him, with the influence of the way thereof unto universal
gospel obedience, that is alone to be designed in the handling of this doctrine.
And, therefore, unto him that would treat of it in a due manner, it is required
that he weigh every thing he asserts in his own mind and experience, and not dare
to propose that unto others which he doth not abide by himself, in the most inti-
mate recesses of his mind, under his nearest approaches unto God, in his surprisals
with dangers, in deep afflictions, in his preparations for death, and most humble
contemplations of the infinite distance between God and him. Other notions and
disputations about the doctrine of justification, not seasoned wth these ingredients,
however condited unto the palate of some by skill and language, are insipid and
useless, immediately degenerating into an unprofitable strife of words.
3. I know that the doctrine here pleaded for is charged by many with an un-
friendly aspect towards the necessity of personal holiness, good works, and all gos-
pel obedience in general, yea, vitterly to take it away. So it was at the first clear
revelation of it by the apostle Paul, as he frequently declares. But it is sufficiently
evinced by him to be the chief principle of, and motive unto, all that obedience
which is accepted with God through Jesus Christ, as we shall manifest afterward.
However, it is acknowledged that the objective grace of the gospel, in the doctrine
of it, is liable to abuse, where there is nothing of the subjective grace of it in the
hearts of men; and the ways of its influence into the life of God are uncouth unto
the reasonings of carnal minds. So was it charged by the Papists, at the first
Reformation, and continueth yet so to be. Yet, as it gave the first occasion unto
the Reformation itself, so was it that w'hereby the souls of men, being set at liberty
from their bondage unto innumerable superstitious fears and observances, utterly
inconsistent with true gospel obedience, and directed into the ways of peace with
God through Jesus Christ, were made fruitful in real holiness, and to abound in
all those blessed eff'ects of the life of God which were never found among their
adversaries. The same charge was afterward renewed by the Socinians, and con-
TO THE READER, 5
tinueth still to be managed by them. But I suppose wise and impartial men will
not lay much weight on their accusations, until they have manifested the efficacy
of their contrary persuasion by better effects and fruits than yet they have done.
What sort of men they were -vho first coined that system of religion which they
adhere unto, one who knew them well enough, and sufficiently inclined vmto their
Antitrinitarian opinions, declares in one of the queries that he proposed unto Soci-
nus himself and his followers. " If this," saith he, " be the truth Avhich you con-
tend for, whence comes it to pass that it is declared only by persons ' nulla pietatis
commendatione, nullo laudato prioris vitse exemplo commendatos; imo ut ple-
rumque videmus, per vagabundos, et contentionum zeli carnalis plenos homines, alios
ex castris, aulis, ganeis, prolatam esse. Scrupuli ah excellenti viro propositi, in-
ter oper. Socin.'" The fiercest charges of such men against any doctrines they
oppose as inconsistent with the necessary motives unto godliness, are a recommen-
dation of it unto the minds of considerative men. And there cannot be a more
effectual engine plied for the ruin of religion, than for men to declaim against the
doctrine of justification by faith alone, and other truths concerning the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, as those which overthrow the necessity of moral duties, good
works, and gospel obedience; whilst, under the conduct of the opinions which they
embrace in opposition unto them, they give not the least evidence of the power of the
truth or grace of the gospel upon their own hearts, or in their lives. Whereas, there-
fore, the whole gospel is the truth which is after godliness, declaring and exhibiting
that grace of God which teacheth us " to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and
that we should live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this world;" we being
fallen into those times wherein, under great and fierce contests about notions, opi-
nions, and practices in religion, there is a horrible decay in true gospel purity and
hohness of life amongst the generality of men, I shall readily grant that, keeping a
due regard unto the only standard of truth, a secondary trial of doctrines proposed
and contended for may and ought to be made, by the ways, lives, walkings, and
conversations of them by whom they are received and professed. And although
it is acknowledged that the doctrine pleaded in the ensuing discourse be liable to
be abused, yea, turned into licentiousness, by men of corrupt minds, through the
prevalency of vicious habits in them (as is the whole doctrine of the grace of
God by Jesus Christ); and although the way and means of its efficacy and in-
fluence into universal obedience unto God, in righteousness and true hoUness, be
not discernible without some beam of spiritual light, nor will give an experience of
their power unto the minds of men utterly destitute of a principle of spiritual life;
yet, if it cannot preserve its station in the church by this rule, of its useful ten-
dency unto the promotion of godliness, and its necessity thereunto, in all them
by whom it is really believed and received in its proper light and power, and that
in the experience of former and present times, I shall be content that it be ex-
ploded.
4. Finding that not a few have esteemed it compliant with their interest to
publish exceptions against some few leaves which, in the handling of a subject of
another nature, I occasionally wrote many years ago on this subject, I am not
without apprehensions, that either the same persons, or others of a like temper and
principles, may attempt an opposition unto what is here expressly tendered thereon.
On supposition of such an attempt, I shall, in one word, let the authors of it know
wherein alone I shall be concerned. For, if they shall make it their business to
cavil at expressions, to wrest my words, wire-draw inferences and conclusions from
them not expressly owned by me, — to revile my person, to catch at advantages
in any occasional passages, or other unessential parts of the discourse, — labouring
for an appearance of success and reputation to themselves thereby, without a due
attendance unto Christian moderation, candour, and ingenuity, — I shall take no
6 TO THE READER.
more notice of what they say or write than I would do of the greatest imper-
tinencies that can be reported in this world. The same I say concerning opposi-
tions of the like nature unto any other writings of mine, — a work which, as I hear,
some are at jiresent engaged in. I have somewhat else to do than to cast away
any part of the small remainder of my life in that kind of controversial writings
which good men bewail, and wise men deride. Whereas, therefore, the principal
design of this discourse is to state the doctrine of justification from the Scripture,
and to confirm it by the testimonies thereof, I shall not esteem it spoken against,
unless our exposition of Scripture testimonies, and the application of them unto
the present argument, be disproved by just rules of interpretation, and another
sense of them be evinced. All other things which I conceive necessary to be spoken
unto, in order unto the right understanding and due improvement of the truth
pleaded for, are comprised and declared in the ensuing general discourses to that
purpose. These few things I thought meet to mind the reader of.
J. O.
From my study, May the 30tA, 1677.
THE DOCTEIiNE
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
PREVIOUSLY NECESSARY UNTO THE EXPLANATION OP THE DOCTRINE
OF JUSTIFICATION.
That we may treat of the doctrine of justification usefully unto its
proper ends, which are the glory of God in Christ, with the peace
and furtherance of the obedience of believers, some things are pre-
viously to be considered, which we must have respect unto in the
whole process of our discourse. And, among others that might be
insisted on to the same purpose, these that ensue are not to be
omitted : —
1. The first inquiry in this matter, in a way of duty, is after the
proper relief of the conscience of a sinner pressed and perplexed
with a sense of the guilt of sin. For justification is the way and
means whereby such a person doth obtain acceptance before God,
with a right and title unto a heavenly inheritance. And nothmg is
pleadable in this cause but what a man would speak unto his o^vn
conscience in that state, or unto the conscience of another, when he
is anxious under that inquiry. Wherefore, the person under con-
sideration (that is, who is to be justified) is one who, in himself, is
daiQyjg, Rom. iv. 5, — " ungodly;" and thereon vmbiTiog tw QiuJ, chap,
iii. 19, — " gTiilty before God;" that is, obnoxious, subject, hable, nZ
5/xa/w/xar/ rod QsoD, chap. i. 32, — to the righteous sentential judgment
of God, that " he who committeth sin," who is any way guilty of it,
is '' worthy of death." Hereupon such a person finds himself h-Trh
zardpav, Gal. iii. 10, — under " the curse," and " the wrath of God"
therein " abiding on him," John iii. 18, 36. In this condition he is
dvarroXoyyiTog, — \vithout plea, without excuse, by any thing in and from
himself, for his own relief; his " mouth is stopped," Rom. iii. IP.
For he is, in the judgment of God, declared in the Scripture, gvy/.ix-
8 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Xna/Mivog utp' a/juapr/av, GaL iiL 22, — every way " shut up under sin" and
all the consequents of it. Many evils in this condition are men sub-
ject unto, which may be reduced unto those two of our first parents,
wherein they were represented. For, first, they thought foolishly
to hide themselves from God ; and then, more foolishly, would have
charged him as the cause of their sin. And such, naturally, are the
thoughts of men under their convictions. But whoever is the sub-
ject of the justification inquired after, is, by various means, brought
into his apprehensions who cried, " Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?"
2. With respect unto this state and condition of men, or men in
this state and condition, the inquiry is, What that is upon the ac-
count whereof God pardoneth all their sins, receiveth them into his
favour, declareth or pronounceth them rigliteous and acquitted from
all guilt, removes the curse, and turneth away all his wrath from
them, giving them right and title unto a blessed immorality or life
eternaU This is that alone wherein the consciences of sinners in this
estate are concerned. Nor do they inquire after any thing, but what
they may have to oppose unto or answer the justice of God in the
commands and curse of the law, and what they may betake them-
selves unto for the obtaining of acceptance with him unto life and
salvation.
That the apostle doth thus, and no otherwise, state this whole
matter, and, in an answer unto this inquiry, declare the nature of
justification and all the causes of it, in the third and fourth chapters
of the Epistle to the Eomans, and elsewhere, shall be afterward de-
clared and proved. And we shall also manifest, that the apostle
James, in the second chapter of his epistle, doth not speak unto this
inquiry, nor give an answer unto it; but it is of justification in another
sense, and to another purpose, whereof he treateth. And whereas we
cannot either safely or usefully treat of this doctrine, but with respect
unto the same ends for which it is declared, and whereunto it is
applied in the Scripture, we should not, by any pretences, be turned
aside from attending unto this case and its resolution, in all our dis-
courses on this subject; for it is the direction, satisfaction, and peace
of the consciences of men, and not the curiosity of notions or subtil fcy
of disputations, which it is our duty to design. And, therefore, I
shall, as much as I possibly may, avoid all those philosophical terms
and distinctions wherewith this evangelical doctrine hath been per-
plexed rather than illustrated ; for more weigiit is to be put on the
steady guidance of the mind and conscience of one believer, really
exercised about the foundation of his peace and acceptance with God,
than on the confutation of ten wrangling disputers.
3. Now the inquiry, on what account, or for what cause and rea-
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 9
son, a man may be so acquitted or discharged of sin, and accepted
with God, as before declared, doth necessarily issue in this: — Whether'
it be any thing in ourselves, as our faith and repentance, the reno-
vation of our natures, inherent habits of grace, and actual luorks
of righteousness tvhich lue have done, or may do? or whether it be
the obedience, righteousness, satisfaction, and merit of the Son of
God our mediator, and surety of the covenant, imputed unto us?
One of these it must be, — namely, something that is our own, which,
whatever may be the influence of the grace of God unto it, or causality
of it, because wrought in and by us, is inherently our own in a pro-
per sense ; or something which, being oiot our oiun, not inherent in
us, nor wrought by us, is yet imputed unto us, for the pardon of our
sins and the acceptation of our persons as righteous, or the making
of us righteous in the sight of God. Neither are these things capable
of mixture or composition, Rom. xi. 6. Which of these it is the duty,
Avisdom, and safety of a convinced sinner to rely upon and trust unto,
in his appearance before God, is the sum of our present inquiry.
4. The way whereby sinners do or ought to betake themselves
unto this relief, on supposition that it is the righteousness of Christ,
and how they come to be partakers of, or interested in, that which is
not inherently their own, unto as good benefit and as much advantage
as if it were their own, is of a distinct consideration. And as this
also is clearly determined in the Scripture, so it is acknowledged in
the experience of all them that do truly believe. Neither are we in
this matter much to regard the senses or arguings of men who were
never thoroughly convinced of sin, nor have ever in their o'wn per-
sons " fled for refuge unto the hope set before them."
5. These things, I say, are always to be attended unto, in our whole
disquisition into the nature oi evangelical justification ; for, without
a constant respect unto them, we shall qviickly wander into curious
and perplexed questions, wherein the consciences of guilty sinners
are not concerned; and which, therefore, really belong not unto the
substance or truth of this doctrine, nor are to be immixed therewith.
It is alone the relief of those who are in themselves i-vodiKoi rip Qiu, —
guilty before, or obnoxious and liable to, the judgment of God, — that
we inquire after. That this is not any thing in or of themselves, nor
can so be, — that it is a provision without them, made in infinite wis-
dom and grace by the mediation of Christ, his obedience and death
therein, — is secured in the Scripture against all contradiction ; and it
is the fundamental principle of the gospel. Matt. xi. 28.
6. It is confessed that niany things, for the declaration of the truth,
and the order of the dispensation of God's grace herein, are neces-
sarily to be insisted on; — such are the nature of justifying faith, the
place and use of it in justification, the causes of the new covenant.
10 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the true notion of the mediation and suretiship of Christ, and the
like; which shall all of them be inquired into. But, beyond what
tends directly unto the guidance of the minds and satisfaction of the
souls of men, who seek after a stable and abiding foundation of ac-
ceptance with God, we are not easily to be drawn, unless we are free
to lose the benefit and comfort of this most important evangelical
truth in needless and unprofitable contentions. And amongst many
other miscarriages which men are subject unto, whilst they are con-
versant about these things, this, in an especial manner, is to be
avoided.
7. For the doctrine of justification is directive of Christian practice,
and in no other evangelical truth is the whole of our obedience more
concerned; for the foundation, reasons, and motives of all our duty
towards God are contained therein. Wherefore, in order unto the
due improvement of them ought it to be taught, and not otherwise.
That which alone we aim (or ought so to do) to learn in it and by it,
is how we may get and maintain peace with God, and so to live unto
him as to be accepted with him in what we do. To satisfy the minds
and consciences of men in these things, is this doctrine to be taught.
Wherefore, to carry it out of the understandings of ordinary Chris-
tians, by speculative notions and distinctions, is disserviceable unto
the faith of the church ; yea, the mixing of evangelical revelations
with philosophical notions hath been, in sundry ages, the poison of
religion. Pretence of accuracy, and artificial skill in teaching, is that
which giveth countenance unto such a way of handling sacred things.
But the spiritual amplitude of divine truths is restrained hereby,
whilst low, mean, philosophical senses are imposed on them. And
not only so, but endless divisions and contentions are occasioned and
perpetuated. Hence, when any difference in religion is, in the pur-
suit of controversies about it, brought into the field of metaphysical
respects and philosophical terms, whereof there is mXvs v6/mos h6a xal
h&a, — sufficient provision for the supply of the combatants on both
sides, — the truth for the most part, as unto any concernment of the
souls of men therein, is utterly lost and buried in the rubbish of sense-
less and unprofitable words. And thus, in particular, those who seem
to be well enough agreed in the whole doctrine of justification, so far as
the Scripture goeth before them, and the experience of believers keeps
them company, when once they engage into their philosophical defi-
nitions and distinctions, are at such an irreconcilable variance among
themselves, as if they were agreed on no one thing that doth concern
it. For as men have various apprehensions in coining such defini-
tions as may be defensible against objections, which most men aim
at therein ; so no proposition can be so plain, (at least in " materia
probabili,") but that a man ordinarily versed in pedagogical terms,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. ] 1
and metaphysical notions, may multiply distinctions on every word
of it.
8. Hence, there liatli been a pretence and appearance of twenty
several opinions among Protestants about justification, as Bellarmine,^
and Vasquez,^ and others of the Papists, charge it against them out of
Osiander,^ when the faith of them all was one and the same, Bellar.,
lib. V. cap. 1; Vasq. in ], 2, qusest. 113, disp. 202; whereof we shall
speak elsewhere. When men are once advanced into that field of
disputation, which is all overgrown with thorns of subtilties, per-
plexed notions, and futilous terms of art, they consider principally
how they may entangle others in it, scarce at all how they may get
out of it themselves. And in this posture they oftentimes utterly
forget the business which they are about, especially in this matter of
justification, — namely, how a guilty sinner may come to obtain favour
and acceptance with God. And not only so, but I doubt they often-
times dispute themselves beyond what they can well abide by, when
tliey return home unto a sedate meditation of the state of things be-
tween God and their souls. And I cannot much value their notions
and sentiments of this matter, who object and answer themselves out
of a sense of their own appearance before God ; much less theirs
who evidence an open inconformity unto the grace and truth of this
doctrine in their hearts and lives.
9. Wherefore, we do but trouble the faith of Christians, and the peace
of the true church of God, whilst we dispute about expressions, terms,
and notions, when the substance of the doctrine intended may be
declared and believed, without the knowledge, understanding, or use
of any of them. Such are all those in whose subtile management the
captious art of wrangling doth principally consist. A diligent attend-
' A cardinal, who, according to Bayle, had " the best pen for controversy of his
day." He was born in Tuscany in 1542, ordained by the celebrated Janseuius iu
15G9, was professor of theology for seven years at Louvain, in 1576 gave contro-
versial lectures at Rome, was made cardinal in 1599, and archbishop of Capua in
1602; which, three years after, he quitted for Rome, where he died in 1621. His
controversial works fill three large folio volumes. His work on the temporal
power of the pope was condemned at Paris, because he claimed for the pope the
right to depose princes; and yet because he asserted this right to be not direct, but
indirect, his book was placed by Pope Sixtus V. on the Index Expurgatorius.
^ A Roman Catholic writer on morals and theology, whose works were published
at Ley den in 1620.
' Andrew Osiander, or in German, Hosemanu, was born in Franconia 1498,
became a preacher at Nuremberg in 1522, and professor of theology in the Uni-
versity of Konigsberg in 1548. He died in 1552. He was among the first of the
Protestant divines that broached heretical views. He denied the forensic char-
acter of justification, confounded it with sanctification, a>id held that man is
justified not by the imputation of Christ's righteousness in satisfying and obeying
the moral law, but by our participation, through faith, in the essential righteous-
ness of Christ as God. He was, nevertheless, an able and learned man, though
proud and dogmatic iu temper. He wrote a valuable " Harmonia Evangelica." —
Ei>.
12 ON JUSTIFICATION.
ance unto the revelation made hereof in the Scripture, and an exami-
nation of our own experience thereby, is the sum of what is required
of us for the right understanding of the truth herein. And eveiy
true behever, who is taught of God, knows how to put his whole trust
in Christ alone, and the grace of God by him, for mercy, righteous-
ness, and glory, and not at all concern himself with those loads of
thorns and briers, which, under the names of definitions, distmctions,
accurate notions, in a number of exotic pedagogical and philosophical
terms, some pretend to accommodate them withal.
10. The Holy Ghost, in expressing the most eminent acts in our
justification, especially as unto our believing, or the acting of that
faith whereby we are justified, is pleased to make use of many meta-
phorical expressions. For any to use them now in the same way,
and to the same purpose, is esteemed rude, undisciplinary, and even
ridiculous ; but on what grounds ? He that shall deny that there is
more spiritual sense and experience conveyed by them into the hearts
and minds of believers (which is the life and soul of teaching things
practical), than in the most accurate philosophical expressions, is him-
self really ignorant of the whole truth in this matter. The propriety
of such expressions belongs and is confined unto natural science ; but
spiritual truths are to be taught, "not in the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual." God is wiser than man; and the Holy Ghost
knows better what are the most expedient ways for the illumination
of our minds with that knowledo-e of evangelical truths which it is
our duty to have and attain, than the wisest of us all. And other
knowledge of or skill in these things, than what is required of us in
a way of duty, is not to be valued.
It is, therefore, to no purpose to handle the mysteries of the gospel
as if Hilcot and Bricot, Thomas and Gabriel, with all the Senten-
tiarists,^ Summists, and Quodlibetarians of the old Roman peripatetical
school, were to be raked out of their graves to be our guides. Espe-
cially will they be of no use unto us in this doctrine of justification.
For whereas they pertinaciously adhered unto the philosophy of
Aristotle, who knew nothing of any righteousness but what is a habit
inherent in ourselves, and the acts of it, they wrested the whole
doctrine of justification unto a compliance therewithal. So Pighius^
himself complained of them, Controv. 2, " Dissimulare non possumus,
banc vel primam doctrinse Christianse partem (de justificatione) ob-
' Sententiarii were scholastic theologians, who commented on the sentences of
Lombard. See vol. i. p. 224. Sumnui Theologiai, was the scholastic terra for a
system of divinity.
2 There were two writers, uncle and nephew, of the same name, Pighi, and botli
born at Campen, in the Dutch province of Overyssel. The uncle (1490-1542)
wrote in defence of the Romish hierarchy. — Ed.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 13
scuratam magis quam illustratam a scholasticis, spinosis plerisque
qusestionibus, et definitionibus, secundum quas nonnulli magno super-
cilio priinam in omnibus autoritatem arrogantes," etc.
Secondly, A due consideration of him with ivhom in this matter
we have to do, and that immediately, is necessary unto a right stating
of our thoughts about it. The Scripture expresseth it emphatically,
that it is " God that justifieth," Rom. viii. 33 ; and he assumes it unto
himself as his prerogative to do what belongs thereunto. " I, even
I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and
will not remember thy sins," Isa. xliii. 25. And it is hard, in my ap-
prehension, to suggest unto him any other reason or consideration of
the pardon of our sins, seeing he hath taken it on him to do it for his
own sake; that is, " for the Lord's sake," Dan. ix. 17, in whom " all
the seed of Israel are justified," Isa. xlv. 25. In his sight, before his
tribunal, it is that men are justified or condemned. Ps. cxliii. 2,
" Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no
man living be justified." And the whole work of justification, with
all that belongeth thereunto, is represented after the manner of a
juridical proceeding before God's tribunal; as we shall see. afterward.
" Therefore," saith the apostle, " by the deeds of the law shall no flesh
be justified in his sight," Rom. iii. 20. However any man be justi-
fied in the sight of men or angels by his own obedience, or deeds of
the law, yet in his sight none can be so.
Necessary it is unto any man who is to come unto a trial, in the
sentence whereof he is greatly concerned, duly to consider the judge
before whom he is to appear, and by whom his cause is finally to be
determined. And if we manage our disputes about justification
without a continual regard unto him by whom we must be cast or
acquitted, we shall not rightly ajjprehend what our plea ought to be.
Wherefore the greatness, the majesty, the holiness, and sovereign
authority of God, are always to be present with us in a due sense of
them, when we inquire how we may be justified before him. Yet is
it hard to discern how the minds of some men are influenced by the
consideration of these tilings, in their fierce contests for the interest
of their own works in their justification: "Precibus aut pretio ut in
aliqua parte hsereant." But the Scripture doth represent unto us
what thoughts of him and of themselves, not only sinners, but saints
also, have had, and cannot but have, upon near discoveries and effec-
tual conceptions of God and his greatness. Thoughts hereof ensuing
on a sense of the guilt of sin, filled our first parents with fear and
shame, and put them on that foolish attempt of hiding themselves
from him. Nor is the wisdom of their posterity one jot better under
their convictions, without a disco veiy of the promise. That alone
makes sinners wise which tenders them relief. At present, the
14 ON JUSTIFICATION.
generality of men are secure, and do not much question but that
they shall come off well enough, one way or other, in the trial they
are to undergo. And as such persons are altogether indifferent what
doctrine concerning justification is taught and received ; so for the
most part, for themselves, they incline unto that declaration of it
which best suits their own reason, as influenced with self-conceit and
corrupt affections. The sum whereof is, that what they cannot do
themselves, what is wanting that they may be saved, be it more or
less, shall one way or other be made up by Christ; either the use or
the abuse of which persuasion is the greatest fountain of sin in the
world, next unto the depravation of our nature. And whatever be,
or may be, pretended unto the contrary, persons not convinced of sin,
not humbled for it, are in all their ratiocinations about spiritual
things, under the conduct of principles so vitiated and corrupted.
See Matt, xviii. 3, 4. But when God is pleased by any means to
manifest his glory unto sinners, all their prefidences and contrivances
do issue in dreadful horror and distress. An account of their temper
is given us, Isa. xxxiii. 14, "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearful-
ness hath surprised the hjrpocrites. Who among us shall dwell with
the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burn-
ings?" Nor is it thus only with some peculiar sort of sinners. The
same will be the thoughts of all guilty persons at some time or other.
For those who, through sensuality, security, or superstition, do hide
themselves from the vexation of them in this world, will not fail to
meet with them when their terror shall be increased, and become
remediless. Our " God is a consuming fire;" and men will one day
find how vain it is to set their briers and thorns against him in
battle aiTay. And we may see what extravagant contrivances con-
vinced sinners will put themselves uj)on, under any real view of the
majesty and holiness of God, Mic. vi. 6, 7, " Wherewith," saith one
of them, " shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the
hitrh God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves
of a year old ? will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Neither
shall I ever think them meet to be contended withal about the doc-
trine of justification who take no notice of these things, but rather
despise them.
This is the proper effect of the conviction of sin, strengthened and
sharpened with the consideration of the terror of the Lord, who is to
judge concerning it. And this is that which, in the Papacy, meet-
ing ivith an ignorance of the righteousness of God, hath produced
innumerable superstitious inventions for the appeasing of the con-
sciences of men who by any means fall under the disquietments of
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS, 15
such convictions. For they quickly see that nothing of tlie obedience
which God requireth of them, as it is performed by them, will justify
them before this high and holy God. Wherefore they seek for
shelter in contrivances about things that he hath not commanded,
to try if they can put a cheat upon their consciences, and find relief
in diversions.
Nor is it thus only with 'profligate sinners upon their convictions;
but the best of men, when they have had near and efficacious repre-
sentations of the greatness, holiness, and glory of God, have been
cast into the deepest self-abasement, and most serious renunciation
of all trust or confidence in themselves. So the prophet Isaiah,
upon his vision of the glory of the Holy One, cried out, " Woe is me !
for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips," chap. vi. 5 ;
— nor was he relieved but by an evidence of the free pardon of sin,
verse 7. So holy Job, in all his contests with his friends, who
charged him with hypocr'isy, and his being a sinner guilty in a pecu-
liar manner above other men, "svith assured confidence and persever-
ance therein, justified his sincerity, his faith and trust in God, against
then' whole charge, and every parcel of it. And this he doth with
such a full satisfaction of his own integrity, as that not only he insists
at large on his vindication, but frequently appeals unto God himself
as unto the truth of his plea ; for he directly pursues that counsel,
with great assurance, which the apostle James so long after gives
unto all believers. Nor is the doctrine of that apostle more eminently
exemplified in any one instance throughout the whole Scripture than
in him; for he showeth his faith by his works, and pleads his justi-
fication thereby. As Job justified himself, and was justified by his
luorks, so we allow it the duty of every believer to be. His plea for
justification by works, in the sense wherein it is so, was the most
noble that ever was in the world, nor was ever any controversy
managed upon a greater occasion.
At length this Job is called into the immediate presence of God,
to plead his own cause ; not now, as stated between him and his
friends, whether he were a hypocrite or no, or whether his faith or
trust in God was sincere ; but as it was stated between God and him,
wherein he seemed to have made some undue assumptions on his
OAvn behalf. The question was now reduced unto this, — on what
grounds he might or could be justified in the sight of God? To pre-
pare his mind unto a right judgment in this case, God manifests his
glory unto him, and instructs him in the greatness of his mcijesty
and power. And this he doth by a multiplication of instances, be-
cause under our temptations we are very slow in admitting right
conceptions of God. Here the holy man quickly acknowledged that
the state of the case was utterly altered. AW his foimer pleas of
] 6 ON JUSTIFICATION.
faith, hope, and trust in God, of sincerity in obedience, which with
so much earnestness he before insisted on, are now quite laid aside.
He saw well enough that they were not pleadable at the tribunal
before which he now appeared, so that God should enter into judg-
ment with him thereon, with respect unto his justification. Where-
fore, in the deepest self-abasement and abhorrency, he betakes himself
unto sovereign grace and mercy. For " then Job answered the Lord,
and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay
mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken ; but I will not
answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no farther," Job xl. 3-5.
And again, " Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand
of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the
hearing of the ear : but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I ab-
hor myself, and repent in dust and ashes," chap. xlii. 4-6. Let any
men place tliemselves in the condition wherein now Job was, — in the
immediate presence of God; let them attend unto what he really
speaks unto them in his word, — namely, what they "svill answer unto
the charge that he hath against them, and what will be their best
plea before his tribunal, that they may be justified. I do not believe
that any man living hath more encouraging grounds to plead for an
interest in his own faith and obedience, in hia justification before God,
than Job had; although I suppose he had not so much skill to ma-
nage a plea to that purpose, with scholastic notions and distinctions,
as the Jesuits have ; but however we may be harnessed with subtile
arguments and solutions, I fear it will not be safe for us to adven-
ture farther upon God than he durst to do.
There was of old a direction for the visitation of the sick, com-
posed, as they say, by ^Anselm, and published by Casparus Ulenber-
gius,^ which expresseth a better sense of these things than some seem
to be convinced of: — " Credisne te non posse salvari nisi per mortem
Christi ? Respondet infirmus, ' Etiam.' Tum dicit illi, Age ergo
dum superest in te anima, in hac sola morte fiduciam tuam constitue;
in nulla alia re fiduciam habe, huic morti te totum committe, hac
sola te totum contege, totum immisce te in hac morte, in hac morte
totum te involve. Et si Dominus te voluerit judicare, die, ' Domine,
mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi objicio inter me et tuum judi-
cium, alitor tecum non contendo.' Et si tibi dixerit quia peccator es,
die, ' Mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi pono inter me et peccata
1 Anselm was born in 1033, at Aosta, in Piedmont, became arclibishop of Can-
terbury in 1093, and died in 1109. His works extend to tbree folio volumes. He
spent a troubled life in maintaining the usurpations of the clergy and the church
against the kings of England. He developed very full;- the doctrine of substi-
tution in the atonement. See bis treatise, Cur Deus-homo ? — Ed.
* An author who published a catechism of lloman Catholic doctrine at Cologne
in 1582.— ]<:d.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 17
mea.' Si dixerit tibi quod mcruisti damnationem ; die, 'Domine,
mortem Domini nostri Jesu Christi obtendo inter te et mala merita
mea, ipsiusqiie merita offero pro merito quod ego debuissem habere
nee habeo.' Si dixerit quod tibi est iratus, die, ' Domine, mortem
Domini Jesu Christi oppono inter me et iram tuam;'" — that is,
"Dost thou believe that thou canst not be saved but by the death of
Christ ? The sick man answereth, ' Yes ;' then let it be said unto him.
Go to, then, and whilst thy soul abideth in thee, put all thy confi-
dence in this death alone, place thy trust in no other thing; commit
thyself wholly to this death, cover thyself wholly with this alone, cast
thyself wholly on this death, wrap thyself wholly in this death. And
if God would judge thee, say, ' Lord, I place the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ between me and thy judgment ; and otherwise I will not
contend or enter into judgment with thee.' And if he shall say unto
thee that thou art a sinner, say, ' I place the death of our Lord Jesus
Christ between me and my sins." If he shall say unto thee that thou
hast deserved damnation, say, ' Lord, I put the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ between thee and all my sins; and I offer his merits for
my o^vn, Avhich I should have, and have not." If he say that he is
angiy with thee, say, 'Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ
between me and thy anger.' " Those who gave these directions seem
to have been sensible of what it is to appear before the tribunal of
God, and how unsafe it will be for us there to insist on any thing in
ourselves. Hence are the words of the same Anselm in his Medita-
tions : " Conscientia mea meruit damnationem, et pcenitentia mea non
sufficit ad satisfactionem ; sed certum est quod, misericordia tua superat
omnem oflfensionem;" — " My conscience hath deserved damnation,
and my repentance is not sufficient for satisfaction ; but most certain
it is that thy mercy aboundeth above all offence." And this seems
to me a better direction than those more lately given by some of the
Roman church; — such as the prayer suggested unto a sick man by
Johan. Polandus, lib. Methodus in acijuvandis morientibus: " Domine
Jesu, conjunge, obsecro, obsequium meum cum omnibus qua3 tu egisti,
et passus es ex tarn perfecta charitate et obedientia. Et cum divitiis
satisfactionum et meritorum dilectionis, patri seterno illud ofiferre dig-
neris." Or that of a greater author, Antidot. Anim^, fol. 17, " Tu
hinc o rosea martyrum turba offer pro me, nunc et in hora mortis
meae, merita, fidelitatum, constantioe, et pretiosi sanguinis, cum san-
guine agni immaculati, pro omnium salute effusi." Jerome, long
before Anselm, spake to the same purpose : " Cum dies judicii aut
dormitionis advenerit, omnes manus dissolventur ; quibus dicitur in
alio loco, confortamini manus dissolutoe; dissolventur autem manus,
quia nullum opus dignum Dei justitia reperiatur, et non justificabitur
in conspectu ejus omnis vivcns, unde propheta dinit in psalmo, ' Si
VOL. V. 2
18 ON JUSTIFICATION.
iniquitates attendas Domine, quis sustinebit/" lib. vi. in Isa. xiii. 6, 7;
— " When the day of judgment or of death shall come, all hands will
be dissolved" (that is, faint or fall down); " unto which it is said in
another place, ' Be strengthened, ye hands that hang down.' But all
hands shall be melted down" (that is, all men's strength and confi-
dence shall fail them), " because no works shall be found which can
answer the righteousness of God ; for no flesh shall be justified in his
sight. Whence the prophet says in the psalm, ' If thou, Lord,
shouldest mark iniquity, who should stand V " And Ambrose, to the
same purpose : " Nemo ergo sibi arroget, nemo de meritis glorietur,
nemo de potestate se jactet, omnes speremus per Dominum Jesum
misericordiam invenire, quoniam omnes ante tribunal ejus stabimus.
De illo veniam, de illo indulgentiam postulabo. Queen am spes alia
peccatoribus?" in Ps. cxix. Resh; — " Let no man arrogate any thing
unto himself, let no man glory in his own merits or good deeds, let
no man boast of his power : let us all hope to find mercy by our Lord
Jesus ; for we shall all stand before his judgment-seat. Of him will
I beg pardon, of him will I desire indulgence ; what other hope is
there for sinners?"
Wherefore, if men will be turned off from a continual regard unto
the greatness, holiness, and majesty of God, by their inventions in the
heat of disputation ; if they do forget a reverential consideration of
what will become them, and what they may betake themselves unto
when they stand before his tribunal; they may engage into such
apprehensions as they dare not abide by in their own personal trial.
For " how shall man be just with God V Hence it hath been ob-
served, that the schoolmen themselves, in their meditations and devo-
tional writings, wherein they had immediate thoughts of God, with
whom they had to do, did speak quite another language as to justifi-
cation before God than they do in their wrangling, philosophical,
fiery disputes about it. And I had rather learn what some men
really judge about their own justification from their praye7'S than
their writings. Nor do I remember that I did ever hear any good
man in his prayers use any expressions about justification, pardon of
sin, and righteousness before God, wherein any plea from any thing
in ourselves was introduced or made use of The prayer of Daniel
hath, in this matter, been the substance of their supplications: " O
Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of
faces. We do not present our supplications before thee for our righte-
ousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear ; 0 Lord, forgive ;
for thine own sake, O my God," Dan. ix. 7, 18, 19. Or that of the
psalmist, " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in
thy sight shall no man living be justified," Ps. cxliii. 2. Or, " If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand? But there
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 19
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared," Ps. cxxx. 3, 4>.
On which words the exposition of Austin is remarkable, speaking of
David, and applying it unto himself: " Ecce ciamat sub molibus
iniquitatum suanim. Circumspexit se, circumspexit vitam suam,
vidit illam undique flagitiis coopertam ; quacunque respexit, nihil in
se boni invenit : et cum tanta et tarn multa peccata undique videret,
tanquam expavescens, exclamavit, ' Si iniquitates observaris Domine,
quis sustinebit ?' Vidit enim prope totam vitam humanam circum-
latrari peccatis; accusari omnes conscientias cogitationibus suis; non
inveniri cor castum prsesumens de justitia; quod quia inveniri non
potest, prsesumat ergo omnium cor de misericordia Domini Dei sui,
et dicat Deo, ' Si iniquitates observaris Domine, Domine quis sustine-
bit?' Quae autem est spes? quoniam apud te propitiatio est." And
whereas we may and ought to represent unto God, in our supplica-
tions, our faith, or what it is that we believe herein, I much question
whether some men can find in their hearts to pray over and plead
before him all the arguments and distinctions they make use of to
prove the interest of our works and obedience in our justification
before him, or " enter into judgment" with him upon the conclusions
which they make from them. Nor will many be satisfied to make
use of that prayer which Pelagius^ taught the widow, as it was objected
to him in the Diospolitan S3niod : " Tu nosti, Domine, quam sanctae,
quam innocentes, quam puree ab omni fraude et rapina quas ad te
expando manus; quam justa, quam immaculata labia et ab omni
mendacio libera, quibus tibi ut mihi miserearis preces fundo ;" — "Thou
knowest, 0 Lord, how holy, how innocent, how pure from all deceit
and rapine, are the hands which I stretch forth unto thee ; how just,
how unspotted with evil, how free from lying, are those lips wherewith
I pour forth prayers unto thee, that thou wouldst have mercy on
me." And yet, although he taught her so to plead her own purity,
innocency, and righteousness before God, he doth it not as those
whereon she might be absolutely justified, but only as the condition
of her obtaining mercy. Nor have I observed that any public litur-
gies (the mass-book only excepted, wherein there is a frequent re-
course unto the merits and intercession of saints) do guide men in
their prayers before God to plead any thing for their acceptance with
liim, or as the means or condition thereof, but grace, mercy, — the
righteousness and blood of Christ alone.
Wherefore I cannot but judge it best (others may think of it as
they please), for those who would teach or learn the doctrine of justi-
fication in a due manner, to place their consciences in the presence
of God, and their persons before his tribunal, and then, upon a due
consideration of his greatness, power, majesty, righteousness, holiness,
— of the terror of his glory and sovereign authority, to inquire what
20 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the Scripture and a sense of tlieii' own condition direct them unto
as their relief and refuge, and what plea it becomes them to make
for themselves. Secret thoughts of God and ourselves, retired medi-
tations, the conduct of the spuit in humble supplications, death-bed
preparations for an immediate aiDpearance before God, faith and love
in exercise on Christ, speak other things, for the most part, than
many contend for.
Thirdly. A clear appreheoision and due sense of the greatness of
our apostasy from God, of the depravation of our natures thereby,
of the power and guilt of sin, of the holiness and severity of the
law, are necessary unto a right apprehension of the doctrine of justi-
fication. Therefore, unto the declaration of it doth the apostle pre-
mise a large discourse, thoroughly to convince the minds of all that
seek to be justified with a sense of these things, Rom. i. ii. iii. The
rules which he hath given us, the method which he prescribetli, and
the ends which he designeth, are those which we shall choose to fol-
low. And he layeth it dowTi in general, " That the righteousness of
God is revealed from faith to faith;" and that " the just shall live by
faith," chap. i. 17. But he declares not in particular the causes, na-
ture, and way of our justification, until he hath fally evinced that
all men are shut up under the state of sin, and manifested how de-
plorable their condition is thereby; and in the ignorance of these
things, in the denying or palliating of them, he layeth the foundation
of all misbelief about the grace of God. Pelagianism, in its first
root, and all its present branches, is resolved thereinto. For, not ap-
prehending the dread of our original apostasy fi'om God, nor the
consequence of it in the universal depravation of our nature, they dis-
own.! any necessity either of the satisfaction of Christ or the efiicacy
of divine grace for our recovery or restoration. So upon the matter
the principal ends of the mission both of the Son of God and of the
Holy Spirit are renounced; which issues in the denial of the deity
of the one and the personality of the other. The fall which we had
being not great, and the disease contracted thereby being easily
curable, and there being little or no evil in those things which are
now unavoidable unto our nature, it is no great matter to be freed
or justified from all by a mere act of favour on our own endeavours ;
nor is the efficacious grace of God any way needful unto our sancti-
fication and obedience; as these men suppose.
When these or the like conceits are admitted, and the minds of
men by them kept off" from a due apprehension of the state and guilt
of sin, and their consciences from being affected with the terror of
the Lord, and curse of the law thereon, justification is a notion to
be dealt withal pleasantly or subtilely, as men see occasion. And
hence arise the differences about it at present, — I mean those which
GENEEAL CONSIDERATIONS. 21
are really such, and not merely the different ways whereby learned
men express their thoughts and apprehensions concerning it.
By some the imputation of the actual apostasy and transgi-ession
of Adam, the head of our nature, whereby his sin became the sin of
the world, is utterly denied. Hereby both the ground the apostle
j^roceedeth on in evincing the necessity of our justification, or our
being made righteous by the obedience of another, and all the argu-
ments brought in the confirmation of the doctrine of it, in the fifth
chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, are evaded and overthrown.
Socinus, de Servator. par. iv. cap. 6, confesseth that place to give
great countenance unto the doctrine of justification by the im.puta-
tion of the righteousness of Christ; and therefore he sets himself
to oppose, with sundry artifices, the imputation of the sin of Adam
unto his natural posterity. For he perceived well enough that, upon
the admission thereof, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ
unto his spiritual seed would unavoidably follov.^, according unto the
tenor of the apostle's discourse.
Some deny the depjxivation and corruption of our nature, which
ensued on our apostasy from God, and the loss of his image ; or, if
they do not absolutely deny it, yet they so extenuate it as to render
it a matter of no great concern unto us. Some disease and dis-
temper of the soul tliey will acknowledge, arising from the disorder
of our affections, whereby we are apt to receive in such vicious habits
and customs as are in practice in the world ; and, as the guilt hereof
is not much, so the danger of it is not great. And as for any spiri-
tual filth or stain of our nature that is in it, it is clean washed away
from all by baptism. That deformity of soul which came upon us
in the loss of the image of God, wherein the beauty and harmony of
all our faculties, in all their actings in order unto their utmost end,
did consist; that enmity unto God, even in the mind, which ensued
thereon ; that darhness which our understandings were clouded,
yea, blinded withal, — the spiritual death which passed on the \i\\o\e
soul, and total alienation from the life of God; that impotency unto
good, that inclination unto evil, that oeceitfulness of sin, that poAver
and efficacy of corrupt lusts, which the Scriptures and experience
so fully charge on the state of lost nature, are rejected as empty
notions or fables. No wonder if such persons look upon imputed
righteousness as the shadow of a dream, who esteem those things
Avhich evidence its necessity to be but fond imaginations. And small
hope is there to bring such men to value the righteousness of Christ,
as imputed to them, who are so unacquainted with their OAvn un-
righteousness inherent in them. Until men know themselves better,
they will care very little to know Christ at all.
Against such as these the doctrine of justification may be defended,
22 ON JUSTIFICATION.
as we are obliged to contend for the faith once dehvered unto the saints,
and as the mouths of gainsayers are to be stopped; but to endeavour
their satisfaction in it, whilst they are under the power of such appre-
hensions, is a vain attempt. As our Saviour said unto them unto whom
he had declared the necessity of regeneration, " If I have told you
earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you
heavenly things?" so may we say, If men will not believe those things,
whereof it would be marvellous, but that the reason of it is known,
that they have not an undeniable evidence and experience in them-
selves, how can they believe those heavenly mysteries which respect a
supposition of that within themselves which they will not acknowledge?
Hence some are so far from any concernment in a "perfect right-
eousness to be imputed unto them, as that they boast of a 'perfection
in themselves. So did the Pelagians of old glory in a sinless perfec-
tion in the sight of God, even when they were convinced of sinful
miscarriages m the sight of men; as they are charged by Jerome,
lib. ii. Dialog.; and by Austin, lib. ii. contra Julian., cap. 8. Such
persons are not " subjecta capacia auditionis evangelicse." Whilst
men have no sense in their own hearts and consciences of the spirit-
ual disorder of their souls, of the secret continual actings of sin with
deceit and violence, obstructing all that is good, promoting all that
is evil, defiling all that is done by them through the lusting of the
flesh against the Spirit, as contrary unto it, though no outward
perpetration of sin or actual omission of duty do ensue thereon, who
are not encraged in a constant watchful conflict asrainst the first mo-
tions of sin, — unto whom they are not the greatest burden and sorrow
in this life, causing them to cry out for deliverance from them, — who
can despise those who make acknowledgments in their confession
unto God of their sense of these things, with the guilt wherewith
they are accompanied, — [they] will, with an assured confidence, reject
and contemn what is offered about justification through the obedience
and righteousness of Christ imputed to us. For no man will be so
fond as to be solicitous of a righteousness that is not his own, who
hath at home in a readiness that which is liis own, which will serve
his turn. It is, therefore, the ignorance of these things alone that
can delude men into an apprehension of their justification before
God by their own personal righteousness. For if they were ac-
quainted with them, they would quickly discern such an imperfec-
tion in the best of their duties, such a frequency of sinful irregu-
larities in their minds and disorders in their afl'ections, such an
unsuitableness in all that they are and do, from the inward frames
of their hearts unto all their outward actions, unto the greatness and
holiness of God, as would abate their confidence in placing any trust
in their own righteousness for their justification.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 23
By means of these and the like presumptuous conceptions of un-
enhghtened minds, the consciences of men are kept off from being
affected with a due sense of sin, and a serious consideration how they
may obtain acceptance before God. Neither the consideration of the
hohness or terror of the Lord, nor the severity of the law, as it indis-
pensably requireth a righteousness in compliance with its commands ;
nor the promise of the gospel, declaring and tenderiag a righteous-
ness, the righteousness of God, in answer thereunto; nor the un-
certainty of their own minds upon trials and surprisals, as having no
stable ground of peace to anchor on ; nor the constant secret dis-
quietment of their consciences, if not seared or hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin, can prevail with them whose thoughts are pre-
possessed \vith such slight conceptions of the state and guilt of sin to
fly for refuge unto the only hope that is set before them, or really and
distinctly to comport with the only way of deliverance and salvation.
Wherefore, if we would either teach or learn the doctrine of justi-
fication in a due manner, a clear apprehension of the greatness of
our apostasy from God, a due sense of the guilt of sin, a deep ex-
perience of its power, all with respect unto the holiness and law of
God, are necessary unto us. We have nothing to do in this matter
with men, who, through the fever of pride, have lost the understand-
ing of their own miserable condition. For, " Natura sic apparet
vitiata, ut hoc majoris vitii sit non videre," Austin. The whole need
not the physician, but the sick. Those who are pricked unto the
heart for sin, and cry out, " What shall we do to be saved?" will
understand what we have to say. Against others we must defend
the truth, as God shall enable. And it may be made good by all
sorts of instances, that as men rise in their notions about the ex-
tenuation of sin, so they fall in their regard unto the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And it is no less true also, on the other hand, as
unbelief worketh in men a disesteem of the person and righteousness
of Christ, they are cast inevitably to seek for countenance unto their
own consciences in the extenuation of sin. So insensibly are the
minds of men diverted from Christ, and seduced to place their con-
fidence in themselves. Some confused respect they have unto him, as
a relief they know not how nor wherein; but they live in that pre-
tended height of human wisdom, to trust to themselves. So they are
instructed to do by the best of the philosophers: " Unum bonum
est, quod beatae vitse causa et firmamentura est, sibi fidere," Senec.
Epist. xxxi. Hence, also, is the internal sanctifying grace of God,
among many, equally despised with the imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ. The sum of their faith, and of their arguments in
the confirmation of it, is given by the learned Roman orator and
philosopher. " Virtutem," saith he, " nemo unquam Deo acceptam
24 ON JUSTIFICATION.
retulit; nimirum recte. Propter virtutem enim jure laudamur, et
iu virtute recte gloriamur, quod non contingeret, si donum a Deo,
non a nobis haberemus," Tull. de Nat. Deor.
Fourthly. The opposition that the Scripture makes between grace
and works in general, with the exclusion of the one and the asser-
tion of the other in our justification, deserves a previous considera-
tion. The opposition intended is not made between grace and
works, or our own obedience, as unto their essence, nature, and con-
sistency, in the order and method of our salvation ; but only with re-
spect unto our justification. I do not design herein to plead any
particular testimonies of Scripture, as unto their especial sense, or de-
claration of the mind of the Holy Ghost in them, which will after-
ward be with some diligence inquired into; but only to take a view
which way the eye of the Scripture guides our apprehensions, and
what compliance there is in our own experience with that guidance.
The principal seat of this doctrine, as will be confessed by all, is in
the Epistles of Paul unto the Romans and Galatians, whereunto that
also to the Hebrews may be added : but in that unto the Romans
it is most eminently declared ; for therein is it handled by the
apostle ex professo at large, and that both doctrinally and in the
way of controversy with them by whom the truth was opposed. And
it is worth our consideration what process he makes towards the
declaration of it, and what principles he proceeds upon therein.
He lays it down as the fundamental maxim which he would pro-
ceed upon, or as a general thesis, including the substance of what he
designed to explain and prove, that in the gospel the " righteousness
of God is revealed from faith to faith : as it is written. The just shall
live by faith,"' Rom. i. 1 7. AH sorts of men who had any knowledge
of God and themselves, were then, as they must be always, inquiring,
and in one degree or other labouring, after righteousness. For this
they looked on, and that justly, as the only means of an advantageous
relation between God and themselves. Neither had the generality
of men any other thoughts, but that this righteousness must be their
own, — inherent in them, and performed by them ; as Rom. x. 3. For
as this is the languacje of a natural conscience and of the law, and
suited unto all philosophical notions concerning the nature of righte-
ousness; so whatever testimony was given of anotlier kind in the law
and the prophets (as such a testimony is given unto a " righteousness
of God without the law," chap. iii. 21), there was a vail upon it, as to
the understanding of all sorts of men. As, therefore, righteousiiess
is that which all men seek after, and cannot but seek after, who de-
sign or desire acceptance with God ; so it is in vain to inquire of the
law, of a natural conscience, of philosophical reason, after any righte-
ousness but what consists in inherent habits and acts of our own.
GENEEAL CONSIDERATIONS. 2-5
Neither law, nor natural conscience, nor reason, do know any other.
But in opposition unto this righteousness of our own, and the ne-
cessity thereof, testified unto by the law in its primitive constitu-
tion, by the natural light of conscience, and the apprehension of the
nature of things by reason, the apostle declares, that in the gospel
there is revealed another righteousness, which is also the righteous-
ness of another, the righteousness of God, and that from faith to
faith. For not only is the righteousness itself revealed alien from
those other principles, but also the manner of our participation of it,
or its communication unto us, " from faith to faith" (the faith of God
in the revelation, and our faith in the acceptation of it, being only
here concerned), is an eminent revelation. Righteousness, of all
things, should rather seem to be/rom works unto works, — from the
work of grace in us to the works of obedience done by us, as the
Papists affirm. " No," saith the apostle, " it is ' from faith to faith;'"
whereof afterward.
This is the general thesis the apostle proposeth unto confinnation ;
and he seems therein to exclude from justification every thing but the
righteousness of God and the faith of believers. And to this purpose
he considers all persons that did or might pretend unto righteousness,
or seek after it, and all ways and means whereby they hoped to at-
tain unto it, or whereby it might most probably be obtained, declar-
ing the failing of all persons, and the insufficiency of all means as
unto them, for the obtaining a righteousness of our own before God.
And as unto persons, —
1. He considers the Gentiles, with all their notions of God, their
practice in rehgious worship, with their conversation thereon: and
from the whole of what might be observed amongst them, he con-
cludes, that they neither were nor could be^justified before God ; but
that they were all, and most deservedly, obnoxious unto the sentence
of death. And whatever men may discourse concerning the justifi-
cation and salvation of any without the revelation of the righteous-
ness of God by the gospel, " from faith to faith," it is expressly con-
tradictoiy to his whole discourse, chap, i., from verse 19 to the end.
2. He considers the Jeius, who enjoyed the written law, and the
privileges wherewith it was accompanied, especially that of circum-
cision, which was the outward seal of God's covenant : and on many
considerations, with many ai'guments, he excludes them also from
any possibility of attaining justification before God, by any of the
privileges they enjoyed, or their own compliance therewithal, chap. ii.
And both sorts he excludes distinctly from this privilege of right-
eousness before God, with this one argument, that both of them sinned
openly against that which they took for the rule of their righteous-
ness,— namely, the Gentiles against the light of nature, and the Jews
26 ON JUSTIFICATION.
against the law; whence it inevitably follows, that none of them could
attain unto the righteousness of their own rule. But he proceeds
farther, unto that which is common to them all; and, —
3. He proves the same against all sorts of persons, whether Jews
or Gentiles, from the consideration of the universal depravation of
nature in them all, and the horrible effects that necessarily ensue
thereon in the hearts and lives of men, chap. iii. ; so evidencing that
as they all were, so it could not fall out but that all must be shut
up under sin, and come short of righteousness. So, from persons he
proceeds to things, or means of righteousness. And, —
4. Because the law was given of God immediately, as the whole
and only rule of our obedience unto him, and the works of the law
are therefore all that is required of us, these may be pleaded with
some pretence, as those whereby we may be justified. "Wherefore, in
particular, he considers the nature, use, and end of the law, manifest-
ing its utter insufficiency to be a means of our justification before
God, chap. iii. 19, 20.
5. It may be yet objected, that the laiu and its works may be thus
insufficient, as it is obeyed by unbelievers in the state of nature, with-
out the aids of grace administered in the promise; but with respect
unto them who are regenerate and do believe, whose faith and works
are accepted with God, it may be otherwise. To obviate this objec-
tion, he giveth an instance in two of the most eminent believers
under the Old Testament, — namely, Abraham and David, declaring
that all works whatever were excluded in and from their justification,
chap. iv.
On these principles, and by this gradation, he peremptorily con-
cludes that all and every one of the sons of men, as unto any thing
that is in themselves, or can be done by them, or be wrought in them,
are guilty before God, obnoxious unto death, shut up under sin, and
have their mouths so stopped as to be deprived of all pleas in their
own excuse; that they had no righteousness wherewith to appear
before God ; and that all the ways and means whence they expected
it were insufficient unto that purpose.
Hereon he proceeds with his inquiry, how men may be delivered
from this condition, and come to be justified in the sight of God.
And in the resolution hereof he makes no mention of any thing in
themselves, but only faith, whereby we receive the atonement. That
whereby we are justified, he saith, is " the righteousness of God which
is by the faith of Christ Jesus;" or, that we are justified " freely by
grace through the redemption that is in him," chap. iii. 22-24. And
not content here with this answer unto the inquiry how lost con-
vinced sinners may come to be justified before God, — namely, that it
is by the " righteousness of God, revealed from faith to faith, by
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 2 1
grace, by the blood of Christ," as he is set forth for a propitiation, — he
immediately proceeds unto a positive exclusion of every thing in and
of ourselves that might pretend unto an interest herein, as that which
is inconsistent with the righteousness of God as revealed in the gospel,
and witnessed unto by the law and the prophets. How contrary their
scheme of divinity is unto this design of the apostle, and his manage-
ment of it, who affirm, that before the law, men were justified by obe-
dience unto the light of nature, and some particular revelations made
unto them in things of their own especial private concernment ; and
that after the giving of the law, they were so by obedience unto God
according to the directions thereof ! as also, that the heathen might
obtain the same benefit in compliance with the dictates of reason, —
cannot be contradicted by any who have not a mind to be contentious.
Answerable unto this declaration of the mind of the Holy Ghost
herein by the apostle, is the constant tenor of the Scripture speaking
to the same purpose. The grace of God, the promise of mercy, the
free 'pardon of sin, the blood of Christ, his obedience, and the right-
eousness of God in him, rested in and received by faith, are every-
where asserted as the causes and means of our justification, in oppo-
sition unto any thing in ourselves, so expressed as it useth to express
the best of our obedience, and the utmost of our personal righteous-
ness. Wherever mention is made of the duties, obedience, and
personal righteousness of the best of men, with respect unto their
justification, they are all renounced by them, and they betake them-
selves unto sovereign grace and mercy alone. Some places to this
purpose may be recounted.
The foundation of the whole is laid in the first promise ; wherein
the destmction of the work of the devil by the suffering of the seed
of the woman is proposed as the only relief for sinners, and only
means of the recovery of the favour of God. " It shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," Gen. iii. 15. " Abraham be-
lieved in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness,"
Gen. XV. 6. " And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of
the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat ; and the goat shall bear upon him all their ini-
quities unto a land not inhabited," Lev. xvL 21, 22. " I will go in
the strength of the Lord GOD : I mil make mention of thy righteous-
ness, even of thine only," Ps. Ixxi. 16. " If thou. Lord, shouldest
mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared," Ps. cxxx. 8, 4. " Enter not
into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living
be justified," Ps. cxhii. 2. " Behold, he put no trust in his servants;
and his angels he charged with folly: how much less in them that
28 ON JUSTIFICATION.
dwell in houses of clay, wliose foundation is in the dust?" Job iv.
18, 19. " Fury is not in me: Avho would set the briers and thorns
against me in battle ? I would go through them, I would burn them
together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make
peace with me; and he shall make peace with me," Isa. xxvii. 4, 5.
"Surely, shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength :
in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory,"
chap. xlv. 24, 25. " All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the ini-
quity of us all. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities," chap. liii. 6, 11. "This
is his name whereby he shall be called. The Lord our Righteousness,"
Jer. xxiii. 6. " But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our risfht-
eousnesses are as filthy rags," Isa. Ixiv. 6. " He shall finish the
transgression, and make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for
iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness," Dan. ix. 24. " As
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name," John i. 12. " As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man
be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have eternal life," chap. iii. 14, 15. " Be it known unto you, there-
fore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from
all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses,"
Acts xiii. 38, 89. " That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me/'
chap. xxvi. 18. " Being justified freely by his grace through the re-
demption that is in Christ Jesus; 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 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 with-
out the deeds of the law," Rom. iii. 24-28. " For if Abraham were
justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that -worketh is
the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his
faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works, saying. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 29
will not impute sin," cliap. iv. 2-8. " But not as the offence, so also
is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead,
much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one
man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was
by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment Avas by one to
condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they
which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
shall reigTi in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by
the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justi-
fication of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous,"
chap. V, 15-19. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not
do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ;
that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," chap. viii. 1-4
" For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth," chap. x. 4. " And if by grace, then is it no more of works;
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace ; otherwise work is no more work," chap. xi. 6. " But of
him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption," 1 Cor. i. 30. " For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in hun," 2 Cor. v. 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," Gal. ii. 16.
" But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is
evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of
faith : but. The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hatli
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,"
chap. iii. 11-13. " For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man
should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them," Eph. ii. 8-10. "Yea doubtless, and I count all
thmgs but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him,
30 ON JUSTIFICATION.
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith," Phil. iii. 8, 9. " Who hath saved us, and called us
with an 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," 2 Tim. i. 9. " That being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life," Tit.
iii. 7. " Once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away
sin," Heb. ix. 26, 28. " Having by himself purged our sins," chap. i. 3.
" For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanc-
tified," chap. X. 14. " The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth
us from all sin," 1 John i. 7. Wherefore, " Unto him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us
kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be gloiy and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen," Rev. i. 5, 6.
These are some of the places which at present occur to remem-
brance, wherein the Scripture represents unto us the grounds, causes,
and reasons, of our acceptation with God. The especial import of
many of them, and the evidence of truth that is in them, will be
afterward considered. Here we take only a general view of them.
And every thing in and of ourselves, under any consideration what-
ever, seems to be excluded from our justification before God, faith
alone excepted, whereby we receive his grace and the atonement.
And, on the other side, the whole of our acceptation with him seems
to be assigned unto grace, mercy, the obedience and blood of Christ ;
in opposition unto our own worth and righteousness, or our own
works and obedience. And I cannot but suppose that the soul of a
convinced sinner, if not prepossessed with prejudice, will, in general,
not judge amiss whether of these things, that are set in opposition
one to the other, he should betake himself unto, that he may be
justified.
But it is replied, — These things are not to be understood absolutely,
and without limitations. Sundry distinctions are necessary, that we
may come to understand the mind of the Holy Ghost and sense of
the Scripture in these ascriptions unto grace, and exclusions of the
law, our oivn works and righteousness from our justification. For, —
1. The law is either the moral or the ceremonial law. The latter,
indeed, is excluded from any place in our justification, but not the
former. 2. Works required by the law are either wrought be/ore
faith, without the aid of grace; or after believing, by the help of the
Holy Ghost. The former are excluded from our justification, but not
the latter. 3. Works of obedience wrought after grace received
may be considered either as sincere only, or absolutely perfect,
according to what was originally required in the covenant of works.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 31
Those of tlie latter sort are excluded from any place in our justifica-
tion, but not those of the former, 4. There is a twofold justifica-
tion before God in this life, — a first and a second; and we must
diligently consider with respect unto whether of these justifications
any thing is spoken in the Scripture. 5. Justification may be con-
sidered either as to its beginning or as unto its continuation; — and
so it hath divers causes under these diverse respects. 6. Works
may be considered either as meritorious ex condigno, so as their merit
should arise from their own intrinsic worth ; or ex congruo only, with
respect unto the covenant and promise of God. Those of the first
sort are excluded, at least from the first justification : the latter may
have place both in the first and second. 7. Moral causes may be
of many sorts : preparatory, dispository, meritoi^ious, conditionally
efficient, or only sine quibus non. And we must diligently inquire
in what sense, under the notion of what cause or causes, our works
are excluded from our justification, and under what notions they are
necessary thereunto. And there is no one of these distinctions but
it needs many more to explain it; which, accordingly, are made use
of by learned men. And so specious a colour may be put on these
things, when warily managed by the art of disputation, that very few
are able to discern the ground of them, or what there is of substance
in that which is pleaded for; and fewer yet, on whether side the
truth doth He. But he who is really convinced of sin, and, being
also sensible of what it is to enter into judgment with the holy God,
inquires for liimself, and not for others, how he may come to be
accepted with him, will be apt, upon the consideration of all these
distinctions and sub-distinctions wherewith they are attended, to say
to their authors, " Fecistis probfe, incertior sum multo, quam dudum."
]\[y inquiry is. How shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
before the high God? how shall I escape the wrath to come? What
shall I plead in judgment before God, that I may be absolved, ac-
quitted, justified? where shall I have a righteousness that will endure
a trial in his presence? If I should be harnessed with a thousand of
these distinctions, I am afraid they would prove thorns and briers,
which he would pass through and consume.
The inquiry, therefore is, upon the consideration of the state of the
person to be justified, before mentioned and described, and the pro-
posal of the reliefs in our justification as now expressed, whether it
be the wisest and safest course for such a person seeking to be justi-
fied before God, to betake himself absolutely, his whole trust and
confidence, unto sovereign grace, and the mediation of Christ, or to
have some reserve for, or to place some confidence in, his own gi'aces,
duties, works, and obedience? In putting this great difference unto
umpirage, that we may not be thought to fix on a partial arbitrator.
82 ON JUSTIFICATION.
we shall refer it to one of our greatest aud most learned adversaries
in this cause. And he positively gives us in his determination and
resolution in those known words, in this case: "Propter incertitu-
dinem propria3 justitias, et periculum inanis glorise, tutissimum est
fiduciam totam in sola misericordia Dei et benignitate reponere,"
Bellar. de Justificat., lib. v. cap. 7, prop. 3 ; — " By reason of the uncer-
tainty of our own righteousness, and the danger of vain-glory, it is
the safest course to repose our whole trust in the mercy and kindness
or grace of God alone."
And this determination of this important inquiry he confirmeth
with two testimonies of Scripture, as he might have done it with
many more. But those which he thought meet to mention are not
impertinent. The first is Dan. ix. 18, "We do not present our sup-
plications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great
mercies ; " and the other is that of our Saviour, Luke xvii. 1 0,
" When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you,
say. We are unprofitable servants.'' And after he hath confirmed his
resolution with sundry testimonies of the fathers, he closeth his dis-
course with this dilemma: "Either a man hath true merits, or he hath
not. If he hath not, he is perniciously deceived when he trusteth
in any thing but the mercy of God alone, and seduceth himself,
trusting in false merits; if he hath them, he loseth nothing whilst
he looks not to them, but trusts in God alone. So that whether a
man have any good works or no, as to his justification before God,
it is best and safest for him not to have any regard imto them, or
put any trust in them." And if this be so, he might have spared all
his pains he took in writing his sophistical books about justification,
whose principal design is to seduce the minds of men into a contrary
opinion. And so, for auglit I know, they may spare their labour
also, without any disadvantage unto tlie church of God or their own
souls, who so earnestly contend for some kind of interest or other
for our own duties and obedience in our justification before God;
seeing it will be found tliat they place their own whole trust and
confidence in the grace of God by Jesus Christ alone. For to what
purpose do we labour and strive with endless disputations, arguments,
and distinctions, to prefer our duties and obedience unto some office
in our justification before God, if, when we have done all, we find it
the safest course in our own persons to abhor ourselves with Job in
the presence of God, to betake ourselves unto sovereign grace and
mercy with the publican, and to place all our confidence in them
through the obedience and blood of Christ?
So died that great emjDcror, Charles V., as Thuanus^ gives the ac-
count of his Novissima. So he reasoned with himself: " Se qui-
' For a notice of Tluuuuis, see vol. viii. G12.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIOXS. 33
dem indigniim esse, qui propriis mentis regnuni cceloriim obtiue-
ret; sed Dominum Deum suum qui illud duplici jure obtineat, et
Patris hsereditate, et passionis merito, altero contentum esse, altenim
sibi donare; ex cujus dono illud sibi merito vendicet, hacque fiducia
fretus minime confundatur; neque enim oleum misericordise nisi in
vase fiducias poni ; banc hominis fiduciam esse a se deficientis et inni-
tentis domino suo ; alioquin propriis meritis fidere, non fidei esse sed
perfidioe; peccata deleri per Dei indulgentiam, ideoque credere nos
debere peccata deleri non ^^osse nisi ab eo cui soli peccavimus, et in
quern peccatum non cadit, per quem solum nobis peccata condonen-
tur;" — "That in himself he was altogether unworthy to obtain the
kingdom of heaven by his own works or merits; but that his Lord
God, who enjoyed it on a double right or title, by inheritance of the
Father, and the merit of his own passion, was contented with the
one himself, and freely granted unto him the other; on whose free
grant he laid claim thereunto, and in confidence thereof he should
not be confounded ; for the oil of mercy is poured only into the vessel
of faith or trust : that this is the trust of a man despairing in him-
self, and resting in his Lord ; otherwise, to trust unto his own works
or merits, is not faith, but treachery : that sins are blotted out by the
mercy of God ; and therefore we ought to believe that our sins can
be pardoned by him alone, against whom alone we have sinned, with
whom there is no sin, and by whom alone sins are forgiven."
This is the faith of men when they come to die, and those who
are exercised with temptations whilst they live. Some are hardened
in sin, and endeavour to leave this world without thoughts of another;
some are stupidly ignorant, who neither know nor consider what it
is to appear in the presence of God, and to be judged by him; some
are seduced to place their confidence in merits, pardons, indulgences,
and future suf&-ages for the dead : but such as are acquainted with
God and themselves in any spiritual manner, who take a view of the
time that is past, and approaching eternity, into which they must
enter by the judgment-seat of God, however they may have thought,
talked, and disputed about their own works and obedience, looking
on Christ and his righteousness only to make up some small defects
in themselves, will come at last unto a universal renunciation of Avhat
they have been, and are, and betake themselves unto Christ alone for
righteousness or salvation. And in the whole ensuing discourse I
.shall as little as is possible immix myself in any curious scholastical
disputes. This is the substance of what is pleaded for, — that men
should renounce all confidence in themselves, and every thing that
may give countenance thereunto ; betaking themselves unto the grace
of God by Christ alone for righteousness and salvation. This God
designeth in the gospel, 1 Cor. i. 29-31 ; and herein, whatever diffi-
VOL. V. ' 3
34 ON JUSTIFICATION.
culties we may meet withal in the explication of some propositions and
terms that belong unto the doctrine of justification, about which men
have various conceptions, I doubt not of the internal concun'ent suffrage
of them who know any thing as they ought of God and themselves.
Fifthly. There is in the Scripture represented unto us a commuta-
tion between Christ and believers, as unto sin and righteousness ; that
is, in the imputation of their sins unto him, and of his righteousness
unto them. In the improvement and application hereof unto our
own souls, no small part of the life and exercise of faith doth consist.
This was taught the cliurch of God in theoffering^of the scape-goat :
" And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat,
and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all
their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the
goat. And the goat shall bear upon liim all their iniquities," Lev. xvi.
21, 22. Whether this goat sent away with this burden upon him did
live, and so was a type of the life of Christ in his resurrection after
his death ; or whether he perished in the wilderness, being cast down
the precipice of a rock by him that conveyed him away, as the Jews
suppose ; it is generally acknowledged, that what was done to him
and with him was only a representation of what was done really in
the person of Jesus Christ. And Aaron did not only confess the
sins of the people over the goat, but he also put them all on his
head, "^'Vf^ K'N'T^j; nm inJI,— " And he shall give them all to be on the
head of the goat." In answer whereunto it is said, that he bare them
all upon him. This he did by virtue of the divine institution, wherein
was a ratification of what was done. He did not transfuse sin from
one subject into another, but transferred the guilt of it from one to
another; and to evidence this translation of sin from the people unto
the sacrifice, in his confession, " he put and fixed both his hands on
his head." Thence the Jews say, " that all Israel was made as in-
nocent on the day of expiation as they were on the day of creation;"
from verse 30. Wherein they came short of perfection or consumma-
tion thereby the apostle declares, Heb. x. But this is the lauguage
of every expiatory sacrifice, " Quod in ejus caput sit ;" — " Let the
guilt be on him." Hence the sacrifice itself was called HX^n and ^^^,
— " sin" and " guilt," Lev. iv. 29, vii. 2, x. ] 7. And therefore, where
there was an uncertain murder, and none could be found tliat -was
liable to punishment thereon, that guilt might not come upon the
land, nor the sin be imputed unto the whole people, an heifer was to
be slain by the elders of the city that was next unto the place where
the murder was committed, to take away the guilt of it, Deut. xxi.
1-9. But whereas this was only a moral representation of the punish-
ment due to guilt, and no sacrifice, the guilty person being not
known, those who slew the heifer did not put their hands on hun,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. S5
BO as to transfer their own guilt to him, but washed their hands over
him, to declare their personal innocency. By these means, as in all
other expiatory sacrifices, did God instruct the church in the trans-
ferring of the guilt of sin unto Him who was to bear all their iniquities,
with their discharge and justification thereby.
So " God laid on Christ the iniquities of us all," that " by his
stripes we might be healed," Isa. liii. 5, 6. Our iniquity was laid on
him, and he bare it, verse 11; and through his bearing of it we are
freed from it. His stripes are our healing. Our sin was his, imputed
unto him ; his merit is ours, imputed unto us. " He was made sin
for us, who knew no sin ; that we might become the righteousness of
God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. This is that commutation I mentioned:
he was made sin for us; we are made the righteousness of God in
him. God not imputing sin unto us, verse 19, but imputing righte-
ousness unto us, doth it on this ground alone, that " he was made
sin for us." And if by his being made sin, only his being made a
sacrifice for sin is intended, it is to the same purpose; for the formal
reason of any thing being made an expiatory sacrifice, was the impu-
tation of sin unto it by divine institution. The same is expressed by
the same apostle, Rom. viii. 3, 4, " God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ; that
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." The sin was
made his, he answered for it; and the righteousness which God re-
qidreth by the law is made ours: the righteousness of the law is ful-
filled in us, not by our doing it, but by his. This is that blessed
change and commutation wherein alone the soul of a convinced sinner
can find rest and peace. So he " hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham
might come on us," Gal. iii. 13, 14. The curse of the law contained
all tliat was due to sin. This belonged imto us; but it was trans-
ferred on him. He was made a curse ; whereof his hangmg on a tree
was the sign and token. Hence he is said to " bear our sins in his
own body on the tree," 1 Pet. ii. 24 ; because his hanging on the tree
was the token of his bearincf the curse: " For he that is hauQ-ed is
the curse of God," Deut. xxi. 23. And in the blessing of faithful
Abraham all righteousness and acceptation with God is included ;
for Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righte-
ousness.
But because some, who, for reasons best known unto themselves,
do take all occasions to except against my writings, have in particular
raised an impertinent clamour about somewhat that I formerly de-
livered to this purpose, I shall declare the whole of my judgment
herein in the words of some of those whom they can pretend no
quarrel against, that I know of
3(3 ox JUSTIFICATION.
The excellent words of Justin Martyr deserve the first place:
AvTog Tov 'ihtov u'llv drridoro Xvrpov b'lrsp Tj^jboov, rov ayiov v'^rlp avo/Muv, rov
u/CaKov V'^rsp ruv zazwi/, rov dixaiov 'jTsp ruj abi'/.w, rhv a(pdaprov hnrip tuv
(pdapruv, rof dddvarov v'^rsp ruv Si/j^rwv" ri ydp aXXo rdg d/Maprlctg fj/MMV
riduv/jdyj xaXb-^ai, rj sxiivou dr/.aioG'jv'/i] sv rivi dr/.arjjdT^vai duvarov rovg dvo-
fjjovg r,/j,ccg -/.ai daZiTg^ ri h /xo'i/w rco v'l'Si rov Qsov; cu rrig yXuzslag dvraX-
Xwy^ig, df Trig dvs^iyjtdGTOu drjfj.iovpyia.g, w tmv d'Xpoedo'A.rjruv iuipyiSiuv'
ha d'jo/Mia /xb 'joXXSiv sv dixaiw ivi xpuQf, dizaioavvT} ds ivog 'jroXXovg dvo-
/jbovg oizaiu)(jyi, Epist. ad Diognet. ; — " He gave his Son a ransom for
us; — the holy for transgressors; the innocent for the nocent; the
just for the unjust; the incorruptible for the corrupt; the immortal
for mortals. For what else could hide or cover our sins but his
righteousness ? In whom else could we wicked and ungodly ones be
justified, or esteemed righteous, but in the Son of God alone ? O
sweet permutation, or change ! O unsearchable work, or curious
operation ! 0 blessed beneficence, exceeding all expectation ! that
the iniquity of many should be hid in one just one, and the right-
eousness of one should justify many transgressors." And Gregory
Nyssen speaks to the same purpose: Msrakig ydp rrphg ia-jrhv tov tSjv
yjfjLojv d/MapTiaiv pv-Tov, ju,iTBdc/Jxs [loi TT^g savroij xalJaporo^rog, xoivuvov /jus tou
hauTou -/.dXXoug d-^rspyasd/Mvog, Orat. ii. in Cant.; — " He hath transfei'red
unto himself the filth of my sins, and communicated unto me his
purity, and made me partaker of his beauty." So Augiistine, also :
" Ipse peccatum ut nos justitia, nee nostra sed Dei, nee in nobis sed
in ipso ; sicut ipse peccatum, non suum sed nostrum, nee in se sed in
nobis constitutum," Enchirid. ad Laurent., cap. xli.; — " He was sin,
that we might be righteousness; not our own, but the righteousness
of God ; not in ourselves, but in him ; as he was sin, not his own, but
ours, — not in himself, but in us." The old Latin translation renders
those words, Ps. xxii. 1, ''^^i<^ ''■?.^'^, — " Verba delictorum meorum."
He thus comments on the place : " Quomodo ergo dicit, ' Delictorum
meorum?' nisi quia pro delictis nostris ipse precatur ; et delicta nostra
delicta sua fecit, ut justitiam suam nostramjustitiam faceret;" — ''How
saith he, ' Of my sins?' because he prayeth for our sins; he made our
sins to be his, that he might make his righteousness to be ours, ''n
Trig yXv/.iiag dvraXXayy^g' — " O sweet commutation and change ! " And
Chrysostom, to the same purpose, on those words of the apostle, —
" That we might be made the righteousness of God in him:" UoTog
roAjra, Xoyog, rroTog raZra 'rrapagr^aai duvrjffirai vovg', rov ydp bixaiov, (prjSiv,
i-yoiridiv dn,apTuX6v, hot, Toiig dfzapruXovg 'Zoir,Grj hixaio-jg' /jbdXXov Bri ou6h
o'jTOig ii-TTiv' aXX' o ToXXw iMiVi^ov r^V o\j ydp s^iv idrjXiv, dXX' aOr^v r^v
'XoidrriTOL' ov ydp flrrsv, I'XOii^Giv d/j,apT0i)X6v, dXX' afxapriav ahyj rov fjbri d/Mup-
rdvovra /jt,6vov, dXXd rov /Mrjd's yvovTa d,'j,apTiuv' ha nai rj/Jbug yivui/j^iOa, ovz
s/'crs, di'/iuioi, dXXd di/.aioGvvr}, y.ai Qiou dj/tawouvr], Qiov ydp Isriv av-rj, orav
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. S7
lJi.r\ i^ spyuv (oral/ -/.ai x))X/8a avdyXTj riva, fxrj ivpsdj^vai) aXV octo ^dpirog
di-/,aiudS)//ySv, hSa Taffa kfiapzia. ricpdvidTai, 2 Epist. ad Corinth, cap. v.
Horn. 1] ; — " What word, what speech is this? what mind can com-
prehend or express it? for he saith, ' He made him who was right-
eous to be made a sinner, that he might make sinners righteous. Nor
yet doth he say so neither, but that which is far more subhme and
excellent; for he speaks not of an inclination or affection, but ex-
presseth the quality itself. For he says not, he made him a sinner,
but sin; that we might be made, not merely righteous, but right-
eousness, and that the righteousness of God, when we- are justified
not by works (for if we should, there must be no spot found in them),
but by grace, whereby all sin is blotted out," So Bernard also, E2)ist.
cxc, ad Innocent : — " Homo siquidem qui debuit ; homo qui solvit.
Nam ' si unus,' inquit, ' pro omnibus mortuus est, ergo omnes mortui
sunt;' ut videlicet satisfactio unius omnibus imputetur, sicut omnium
peccata unus ille portavit: nee alter jam inveniatvir, qui forisfecit,^
alter qui satisfecit ; quia caput et corpus unus est Christus." And many
more speak unto the same purpose. Hence Luther, before he en-
gaged in the work of reformation, in an epistle to one George Spen-
lein, a monk, was not afraid to write after this manner : " Mi dulcis
frater, disce Christum et hunc crucifixum, disce ei cantare, et de
teipso desperans dicere ei; tu Domine Jesu es justitia mea, ego autem
sum peccatum tuum; tu assumpsisti meum, et dedisti niihi tuum;
assumpsisti quod non eras, et dedisti mihi quod non eram. Ipse sus-
cepit te et peccata tua fecit sua, et suam justitiam fecit tuam; male-
dictus qui h<EC non credit!" Epist. an. 1516, torn. i.
If those who show themselves now so quarrelsome almost about
every word that is spoken concerning Christ and his righteousness,
had ever been harassed in their consciences about the guilt of sin, as
this man was, they would think it no strange matter to speak and
write as he did. Yea, some there are who have lived and died in the
communion of the church of Rome itself, that have given their testi-
mony unto this truth. So speaks Taulerus, Meditat. Vitoe Christ.
cap. vii. : " Christus omnia mundi peccata in se recepit, tantumque
pro ilHs ultro sibi assumpsit dolorem cordis, ac si ipse ea perpetras-
set;" — " Christ took upon him all the sins of the world, and willingly
underwent that grief of heart for them, as if he himself had commit-
ted them." And again, speaking in the person of Christ: " Quan-
doquidem peccatum Adas multum abire non potest, obsecro te Pater
coelestis, ut ipsum in me vindices. Ego enim omnia illius peccata in
me recipio. Si hjec iras tempestas, propter me orta est, mitte me in
mare amarissimoB passionis;" — " Whereas the great sin of Adam can-
not go away, I beseech thee, heavenly Father, punish it in me. For
' Forhfacio, a word of inoukish Latiuity, signifying to sin or offend. — Eu.
38 ON JUSTIFICATION.
I take all his sins upon myself. If, tlien, this tempest of anger be
risen for me, cast me into the sea of my most bitter passion." See,
in the justification of these expressions, Heb. x. 5-10. The discourse
of Albertus Pighius to this purpose, though often cited and urged,
shall be once again repeated, both for its worth and truth, as also to
let some men see how fondly they have pleased themselves in re-
flecting on some expressions of mine, as though I had been singular
in them. His words are, after others to the same purpose : " Quo-
niam quidem inquit (apostolus) Deus erat in Christo, mundum recon-
cilians sibi, non imputans hominibus sua delicta, et deposuit apud
nos verbum reconciliationis ; in illo ergo justificamur coram Deo, non
in nobis; non nostra sed illius justitia, quae nobis cum illo jam com-
municantibus imjiutatur. Proprioe justitise inopes, extra nos, in illo
docemur justitiam quasrere. Cum inquit, qui peccatum non noverat,
pro nobis peccatum fecit ; hoc est, hostiam peccati expiatricem, ut nos
efiiceremur justitia Dei in ipso, non nostra, sed Dei justitia justi effi-
cimur in Christo; quo jure? Amicitiaj, quas communionem omnium
inter amicos facit, juxta vetus et celebratissimum proverb ium ; Christo
insertis, conglutinatis, et unitis, et sua nostra facit, suas divitias nobis
communicat, suam justitiam inter Patris judicium et nostram injus-
titiam interponit, et sub ea veluti sub umbone ac clypeo a divina,
quam commeruimus, ira nos abscondit, tuetur ac j^rotegit; imo ean-
dem nobis impertit et nostram facit, qua tecti ornatique audacter et
secure jam divino nos sistamus tribunali et judicio : justique non
solum appareamus, sed etiam simu.s. Quemadmodnm enim unius
delicto peccatores nos etiam factos affirmat apostolus: ita unius Christi
justitiam in justificandis nobis omnibus efficacem esse; et sicut per
inched ientiam unius hominis peccatores constituti sunt multi, sic per
obedientiam unius justi (inquit) constituentur multi. Hasc est Christi
justitia, ejus obedientia, qua voluntatem Patris sui perfecit in omni-
bus; sicut contra nostra injustitia est nostra inobedientia, et manda-
torum Dei prajvaricatio. In Christi autem obedientia quod nostra
collocatur justitia inde est, quod nobis illi incorporatis, ac si nostra
esset, accepta ea fertur: ut ea ipsa etiam nos justi habeamur. Et
velut ille quondam Jacob, quum nativitate primogenitus non esset,
sub habitu fratris occultatus, atque ejus veste indutus, quoe odorem
optimum spiral^at, seipsum insinuavit patri, ut sub aliena persona
benedictionem primogenitur^e acciperet: ita et nos sub Christi pri-
mogeniti fratris nostri preciosa puritate delitescere, bono ejus odore
fragrare, ejus perfectione vitia nostra sepeliri et obtegi, atque ita nos
piissimo Patri ingerere, ut justitise benedictionem ab eodem assequa-
mur, necesse est." And afterward: " Justificat ergo nos Deus Pater
bonitate sua gratuita, qua nos in Christo complectitur, dum eidem
insertos innocentia et justitia Christi nos induit; qua3 una ut vera et
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONrj. 89
pcrfecta est, quos Dei sustinere conspectum potest, ita iinam pro no-
bis sisti oportet tribunali divini judicii et veluti causae nostrse inter-
cessorem eidem repra^sentari : qua subnixi etiam Lie obtinerenius
remissionem peccatorum nostrorum assiduam: cujus puritate velatse
non imputantur nobis sordes nostras, imperfectionum immunditia3,
sed veluti sepultse conteguntur, ne in judicium Dei veniant: donee
confecto in nobis, et plane extincto veteri homine, divina bonitas nos
in beatam pacem cum novo Adam recipiat;" — "' God was in Christ,'
saith the apostle, ' reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
unto men their sins,' [' and hath committed to us the word of recon-
ciliation/] In him, therefore, we are justified before God ; not ui
ourselves, not by our own, but by his righteousness, which is im-
puted unto us, now communicating with him. Wanting righteous-
ness of our own, we are taught to seek for righteousness without our-
selves, in him. So he saith, ' Him who knew no sin, he made to
be sin for us' (that is, an expiatory sacrifice for sin), 'that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him.' We are made righteous
in Christ, not with our own, but with the righteousness of God. By
what right? the right of friendship, which makes all common among
friends, according unto the ancient celebrated proverb. Being in-
grafted into Christ, fastened, united unto him, he makes his things
ours, communicates his riches unto us, interposeth his righteousness
between the judgment of God and our unrighteousness: and under
that, as under a shield and buckler, he hides us from that divine
wrath which we have deserved, he defends and protects us there-
with ; yea, he communicates it unto us and makes it ours, so as that,
being covered and adorned therewith, we may boldly and securely
place ourselves before the divine tribunal and judgment, so as not
only to appear righteous, but so to be. For even as the apostle
aflSrmeth, that by one man's fault we were all made sinners, so is
the righteousness of Christ alone efficacious in the justification of us
all : ' And as by the disobedience of one man many were made shi-
ners, so by the obedience of one man,' saith he, ' many are made
righteous.' This is the righteousness of Christ, even his obedience,
whereby in all things he fulfilled the will of his Father ; as, on the
other hand, our unrighteousness is our disobedience and our trans-
gression of the commands of God. But that our righteousness is
placed in the obedience of Christ, it is from hence, that we being in-
corporated into him, it is accounted unto us as if it were ours ; so as
that therewith we are esteemed righteous. And as Jacob of old,
whereas he was not the first-bom, being hid under the habit of his
brother, and clothed with his garment, which breathed a sweet savour,
presented himself unto his father, that in the person of another he
might receive the blessing of the primogeniture; so it is necessary
that we should lie hid under the precious purity of the First-born, our
40 ON JUSTIFICATION.
eldest brother, be fragrant with his sweet savour, and have our sin
buried and covered with his perfections, that we may present our-
selves before our most holy Father, to obtain from him the blessing
of righteousness." And again: " God, therefore, doth justify us by his
free grace or goodness, wherewith he embraceth us in Christ Jesus,
when he clotheth us with his innocency and righteousness, as we are
ingrafted into him ; for as that alone is true and perfect which only
can endure in the sight of God, so that alone ought to be presented
and pleaded for us before the divine tribunal, as the advocate of or
l^lea in our cause. Resting hereon, we here obtain the daily pardon of
sin; with whose purity being covered, our filth, and the uncleanness
of our imperfections are not imputed unto us, but are covered as if
they were biuied, that they may not come into the judgment of God;
until, the old man being destroyed and slain in us, divine goodness re-
ceives us into peace with the second Adam.^' So far he, expressing the
power which the influence of divine truth had on his mind, contrary to
the interest of the cause wherein he was engaged, and the loss of his
reputation with them; for whom in all other things he was one of
the fiercest champions. And some among the Roman church, who
cannot bear this assertion of the commutation of sin and righteous-
ness by imjnttation between Christ and believers, no more than some
among ourselves, do yet affirm the same concerning the righteousness
of other men : " Mercaturam quandam docere nos Paulus videtur.
Abundatis, inquit, vos pecunia, et estis inopes justitise; contra, illi
abundant justitia, et sunt inopes pecuniae; fiat quffidam commutatio;
date vos piis egentibus pecuniam quae vobis affluit, et illis deficit; sic
futurum est, ut illi vicissim justitiam suam qua abundant, et qua vos
estis destituti, vobis communicent." Hosius,^ De Expresso Dei Verbo,
tom. ii. p. 21. But I have mentioned these testimonies, principally
to be a relief unto some men's ignorance, who are ready to speak
evil of what they understand not.
This blessed permutatio7i as unto sin and righteousness is repre-
sented unto us in the Scripture as a principal object of our faith, —
as that whereon our peace with God is founded. And although both
these (the imputation of sin unto Christ, and the imputation of right-
eousness unto us) be the acts of God, and not ours, yet are we by
faith to exemplify them in our own souls, and really to perform what
on our part is required unto their application unto us ; whereby we
receive " the atonement," Rom. v. 11. Christ calls unto him all those
that " labour and are heavy laden," Matt. xi. 28. The weight that is
uj)on the consciences of men, wherewith they are laden, is the burden
' Stanislaus Ilosius was a Roman Catholic author. Ilis collected works passed
through several editions, of whicli the earliest seems to have been one published
at I'aris in 1552. His treatise, " Do Expresso Dei Verbo," was also published
separately in 1610. — Ed.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS, 41
of sin. So the psalmist complains that his " sins were a burden too
heavy for him," Ps. xxxviii. 4. Such was Cain's apprehension of his
guilt, Gen. iv. 13. This burden Christ bare, when it was laid on him
by divine estimation. For so it is said, ''^D^ N^n Dniij?l^ Isa. liii. 11, —
" He shall bear their iniquities" on him as a burden. And this he did
when God made to meet upon him " the iniquity of us all," verse 6,
In the application of this unto our o^vn souls, as it is required that
we be sensible of the weight and burden of our sins, and how it is
heavier than we can bear; so the Lord Christ calls us unto him with
it, that we may be eased. This he doth in the preachings of the
gospel, wherein he is " evidently crucified before our eyes," Gal. iii. 1.
In the view which faith hath of Christ crucified (for faith is a "look-
ing unto him," Isa. xlv. 22, Ixv. 1, answering their looking unto the
brazen serpent who were stung mth fiery serpents, John iii. 14, 15),
and under a sense of his invitation (for faith is our coming unto him,
upon his call and invitation) to come unto him with our burdens, a
believer considereth that God hath laid all our iniquities upon him;
yea, that he hath done so, is an especial object whereon faith is to
act itself, which is faith in his blood. Hereon doth the soul approve
of and embrace the righteousness and grace of God, with the infinite
condescension and love of Christ himself. It gives its consent that
what is thus done is what becomes the infinite Avisdom and grace of
God; and therein it rests. Such a person seeks no more to establish
his own righteousness, but submits to the righteousness of God.
Herein, by faith, doth he leave that burden on Christ which he called
him to bring with him, and complies with the wisdom and righteous-
ness of God in laying it upon him. And herewithal doth he receive
the everlasting risjhteousness which the Lord Christ brought in when
he made an end of sin, and reconciliation for transgressors.
The reader may be pleased to observe, that I am not debating
these things ao-gumentatively, in such propriety of expressions as are
required in a scholastic disjjutation ; which shall be done afterward, so
far as I judge it necessary. But I am doing that which indeed is
better, and of more importance, — namely, declaring the experience of
faith in the expressions of the Scripture, or such as are analogous
unto them. And I had rather be instrumental in the communica-
tion of light and knowledge unto the meanest believer, than to have
the clearest success against prejudiced disputers. Wherefore, by faith
thus acting are we justified, and have j^eace with God. Other foun-
dation in this matter can no man lay, that will endure the trial.
Nor are we to be moved, that men who are unacquainted with
these things in their reality and power do reject the whole iuo7^k of
faith herein, as an easy effort of fancy or imagination. For the
preaching of the cross is foolishness unto the best of the natural
42 ON JUSTIFICATIOX.
wisdom of men ; neither can any understand them but by the Spirit
of God. Those who know the terror of the Lord, who have been
really convinced and made sensible of the guilt of their apostasy from
God, and of their actual sins in that state, and what a fearful thing
it is to fall into the hands of the living God, — seeking thereon after a
real solid foundation whereon they may be accepted with him, — have
other thouG^hts of these thinsfs, and do find believing a thinjj to be
quite of another nature than such men suppose. It is not a work of
fancy or imagination unto men, to deny and abhor themselves, to
subscribe unto the righteousness of God in denouncing death as due
to their sins, to renounce all hopes and expectations of relief from any
righteousness of their own, to mix the word and promise of God con-
cerning Christ and righteousness by him with faith, so as to receive
the atonement, and therewithal to give up themselves unto a universal
obedience unto God. And as for them unto whom, through pride
and self-conceit on the one hand, or ignorance on the other, it is so,
we have in this matter no concernment with them. For unto whom
these things are only the work of fancy, the gospel is a fable.
Something unto this purpose I had written long since, in a prac-
tical discourse^ concerning " Communion mth God." And whereas
some men of an inferior condition have found it useful, for the strength-
ening themselves in their dependencies on some of their superiors, or
in compliance with their o^vn inclinations, to cavil at my writings and
revile their author, that book hath been principally singled out to
exercise their faculty and good intentions upon. This course is steered
of late by one Mr Hotchkis, in a book about justification; wherein,
in particular, he falls very severely on that doctrine, which, for the
substance of it, is here again proposed, p. 81. And were it not that I
hope it may be somewhat useful unto him to be a little warned of
his mimoralities in that discourse, I should not in the least have taken
notice of his other impertinencies. The good man, I perceive, can be
angry with persons whom he never saw, and about things which he
can not or will not understand, so far as to revile them Avith most
opprobrious language. For my part, although I have never written
any thing designedly on this subject, or the doctrine of justification,
before now, yet he could not but discern, by what was occasionally
delivered in that discourse, that I maintain no other doctrine herein
but what was the common faith of the most learned men in all Pro-
testant churches. And the reasons why I am singled out for the ob-
ject of his petulancy and spleen are too manifest to need repetition.
But I shall yet inform him of what, perhaps, he is ignorant, — namely,
that I esteem it no small honour that the reproaches wherewith the
doctrine opposed by him is reproached do fall upon me. And the
^ See vol. ii. of Ijis works.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 43
same I say concerning all the reviling and contemptuous expressions
that his ensuing pages are filled withal. But as to the present occa-
sion, I beg his excuse if I believe him not, that the reading of the
passages which he mentions out of my book filled him with " horror
and indignation/' as he pretends. For whereas he acknowledgeth
that my words may have a sense which he approves of (and which,
therefore, must of necessity be good and sound), what honest and
sober person would not rather take them in that sense, than wrest
them unto another, so as to cast himself under the disquietment of
a fit of horrible indignation? In this fit I suppose it was, if such a
fit, indeed, did befall him (as one evil begets another), that he thought
he might insinuate something of my denial of the necessity of our
otun personal repentance and obedience. For no man who had read
that book only of all my Avritings, could, with the least regard to
conscience or honesty, give countenance unto such a surmise, unless
his mind was much discomposed by the unexpected invasion of a fit
of horror. But such is his dealing with me from first to last ; nor do
I know where to fix on any one instance of his exceptions against me,
wherein I can suppose he had escaped his pretended fit and was re-
turned iinto himself, — that is, unto honest and ingenuous thoughts ;
wherewith I hope he is mostly conversant. But though I cannot
miss in the justification of this charge by considering any instance of
his reflections, yet I shall at present take that which he insists longest
upon, and filleth his discourse about it with most scurrility of expres-
sions. And this is in the 16-4th page of his book, and those that follow ;
for there he disputeth fiercely against me for making this to be an
undue end of our serving God, — namely, that we may fiee from the
ivrath to come. And w-ho would not take this for an inexpiable crime
in any, especially in him who hath written so much of the nature and
use of threatenings under the gospel, and the fear that ought to be
ingenerated by them in the hearts of men, as I have done? Where-
fore so great a crime being the object of them all, his revilings seem
not only to be excused but allowed. But what if all this should prove
a wdlful prevarication, not becoming a good man, much less a minister
of the gospel? My words, as reported and transcribed by himself,
are these : " Some there are that do the service of the house of God
as the drudgery of their lives; the principle they yield obedience upon
is a spirit of bondage unto fear; the rule they do it by is the laAv in
its dread and rigour, exacting it of them to the utmost, without mercy
or mitigation; the end they do it for is to fly from the wrath to come,
to pacify conscience, and to seek for righteousness as it were by the
works of the law."^ What follow unto the same purpose he omits,
and what he adds as my words are not so, but his own; ubi p)udor,
' See Owen ou Communion with God, vol. ii of his works.
44; ON JUSTIFICATION".
uhi fides? That which I affirmed to be a part of an evil end, when
and as it makes up one entire end, by being mixed with sundry other
things expressly mentioned, is singled out, as if I had denied that in
any sense it might be a part of a good end in our obedience : which
I never thought, I never said ; I have spoken and written much to
the contrary. And yet, to countenance himself in this disingenuous
procedure, besides many other untrue reflections, he adds that I in-
sinuate, that those whom I describe are Christians that seek right-
eousness hy faith in Christ, p. 167. I must needs tell this author
that my faith in this matter is, that such works as these will have no
influence in his justification; and that the principal reason why I
suppose I shall not, in my progress in this discourse, take any parti-
cular notice of his exceptions, either against the truth or me, — next
unto this consideration, that they are all trite and obsolete, and, as to
what seemeth to be of any force in them, will occur unto me in other
authors from whom they are derived, — is, that I may not have a con-
tinual occasion to declare how forgetful he hath been of all the rules
of ingenuity, yea, and of common honesty, in his dealing with me.
For that which gave the occasion unto this present unpleasing di-
gression,— it being no more, as to the substance of it, but that our sins
were imputed unto Christ, and that his righteousness is imputed unto
us, — it is that in the faith whereof I am assured I shall live and die,
though he should write ttventy as learned books against it as those
which he hatli already published; and in what sense I do believe these
things shall be afterward declared. And although I judge no men
upon the expressions that fall from them in polemical writings,
wherein, on many occasions, they do affront their own experience,
and contradict their own prayers; yet, as to those who understand
not that blessed commutation of sins and righteousness, as to the sub-
stance of it, which I have pleaded for, and the actings of our faith
with respect thereunto, I shall be bold to say, " that if the gosj)el be
hid, it is hid to them that perish."
Sixthly, We can never state our thoughts aright in this matter,
unless we have a clear apprehension of, and satisfaction in, the intro-
duction of grace hy Jesus Christ into the whole of our relation unto
God, with its respect unto all par^ts of our obedience. There was
no such thing, nothing of that nature or kind, in the first constitution
of that relation and obedience by the law of our creation. We were
made in a state of immediate relation unto God in our own persons,
as our creator, jareserver, and re warder. There was no mystery of
grace in the covenant of works. No more was required unto the
consummation of that state but what was given us in our creation,
enabling us unto rewardable obedience. " Do this, and live," was the
sole rule of our relation unto God. There was nothing in religion
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 45
originally of that which the gospel celebrates under the name of the
gi'ace, kindness, and love of God, whence all our favourable relation
unto God doth now proceed, and whereinto it is resolved ; nothing of
the interposition of a mediator with respect unto our righteousness
before God, and acceptance with hiin; — which is at present the life
and soul of religion, the substance of the gospel, and the centre of all
the truths revealed in it. The introduction of these things is that
which makes our religion a mystery, yea, a " great mystery," if the
apostle may be believed, 1 Tim. iii. 16. All religion at first was
suited and commensurable unto reason; but being now become a
mystery, men for the most part are very unwilling to receive it. But
so it must be ; and unless we are restored unto our primitive rectitude,
a religion suited unto the principles of our reason (of which it hath
none but what answer that first state) will not serve our turns.
Wherefore, of this introduction of Christ and grace in him into
our relation unto God, there are no notions in the natural concep-
tions of our minds; nor are they discoverable by reason in the best
and utmost of its exercise, 1 Cor. ii. 14 For before our understand-
ings were darkened, and our reason debased by the fall, there were
no such things revealed or proposed unto us; yea, the supposition of
them is inconsistent with, and contradictory unto, that whole state
and condition Avherein we were to live to God, — seeing they all sup-
pose the entrance of sin. And it is not likely that our reason, as
now corrupted, should be willing to embrace that which it knew
nothing of in its best condition, and wdiich was inconsistent with that
Avay of attaining happiness Avhich was absolutely suited unto it : for
it hath no faculty or power but what it hath derived from that state;
and to suppose it is now of itself suited and ready to embrace such
heavenly mysteries of truth and grace as it had no notions of, nor
could have, in the state of innocency, is to suppose that by the fall
our eyes were opened to know good and evil, in the sense that the
serpent deceived our first parents with an expectation of. Whereas,
therefore, our reason was given us for our only guide in the first con-
stitution of our natures, it is naturally unready to receive what is
above it ; and, as corrupted, hath an enmity thereunto.
Hence, in the first open proposal of this mystery, — namely, of the
love and grace of God in Christ, of the introduction of a mediator
and his righteousness into our relation unto God, in that way which
God in infinite wisdom had designed, — the whole of it was looked
on as mere folly by the generality of the wise and rational men of
the world, as the apostle declares at large, 1 Cor. i. ; neither was the
faith of them ever really received in the world without an act of the
Holy Ghost upon the mind in its renovation. And those who judge
that there is nothing more needful to enable the mind of man to
46 ON JUSTIFICATION.
receive the mysteries of the gospel in a due manner but the outward
proposal of the doctrine thereof, do not only deny the depravation of
our nature by the fall, but, by just consequence, wholly renounce that
grace whereby we are to be recovered. Wherefore, reason (as hath
been elsewhere proved), acting on and by its own innate principles
and abilities, conveyed unto it from its original state, and as now
corrupted, is repugnant unto the whole introduction of grace by
Christ into our relation unto God, Rom. viii. 7. An endeavour,
therefore, to reduce the doctrine of the gospel, or what is declared
therein concerning the hidden mystery of the grace of God in Cln'ist,
unto the principles and inclinations of the minds of men, or reason
as it remains in us after the entrance of sin, — under the power, at least,
of those notions and conceptions of things religious which it retains
from its first state and condition, — is to debase and corrupt them (as
we shall see in sundry instances), and so make way for their rejec-
tion.
Hence, very difficult it is to keep up doctrinally and 'practically
the minds of men unto the reality and sjairitual height of this mys-
tery; for men naturally do neither understand it nor like it: and
therefore, every attempt to accommodate it unto the principles and
inbred notions of corrupt reason is very acceptable unto many, yea,
unto the most; for the things which such men speak and declare,
are, without more ado, — without any exercise oi faith ox prayer, with-
out any supernatural illumination, — easily intelligible, and exposed
to the common sense of mankind. But whereas a declaration of the
mysteries of the gospel can obtain no admission into the minds of
men but by the effectual working of the Spirit of God, Eph. i. 17-19,
it is generally looked on as difficult, perplexed, unintelligible; and
even the minds of many, who find they cannot contradict it, are yet
not at all delighted with it. And here lieth the advantage of all
them who, in these days, do attempt to corrupt the doctrine of the
gospel, in the whole or any part of it; for the accommodation of it
unto the common notions of corrupted reason is the whole of what
they design. And in the confidence of the suffrage hereof, they not
only oppose the things themselves, but despise the declaration of
them as enthusiastical cantinrj. And by nothing do they more pre-
vail themselves than by a pretence of reducing all things to reason,
and contempt of Avhat they oppose, as xmmie\\\g^h\e fanaticism. But
I am not more satisfied in any thing of the most uncontrollable evi-
dence, than that the understandings of these men are no just measure
or standard of spiritual truth. Wherefore, notwithstanding all this
fierceness of scorn, with the pretended advantages which some think
they have made by traducing expressions in the writings of some men,
it may be improper, it may be only not suited unto their own genius
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 47
and capacity in these things, we are not to be " ashamed of the gos-
pel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth."
Of this repugnancy unto the mystery of the wisdom and grace of
God in Christ, and the foundation of its whole economy, in the dis-
tinct operations of the persons of the holy Trinity therein, there are
two parts or branches : —
1. That which would reduce the whole of it unto the pi'ivate
reason of men, and their own weak, imperfect management thereof.
This is the entire design of the Socinians. Hence, —
(1.) The doctrine of the Trinity itself is denied, impugned, yea,
derided by them ; and that solely on this account. They plead that
it is incomprehensible by reason; for there is in that doctrine a de-
claration of things absolutely infinite and eternal, which cannot be
exemplified in, nor accommodated unto, things finite and temporal.
This is the substance of all their pleas against the doctrine of the
holy Trinity, that which gives a seeming life and sprightly vigour
to their objections against it; wherein yet, under the pretence of the
use and exercise of reason, they fall, and resolve all their reasonings
into the most absurd and irrational principles that ever the minds of
men were besotted withal. For unless you will grant them that what
is above their reason, is, therefore, contradictory unto true reason;
that what is infinite and eternal is perfectly comprehensible, and in
all its concerns and respects to be accounted for; that what cannot
be in things finite and of a separate existence, cannot be in things
infinite, whose being and existence can be but one; with other such
iiTational, yea, brutish imaginations ; all the arguments of these pre-
tended men of reason against the Trinity become like chaff that
every breath of wind will blow away. Hereon they must, as they
do, deny the distinct operations of any persons in the Godhead in
the dispensation of the mystery of grace ; for if there are no such
distinct persons, there can be no such distinct operations. Now, as
upon a denial of these things no one article of faith can be rightly
understood, nor any one duty of obedience be performed unto God
in an acceptable manner; so, in particular, we grant that the doctrine
of justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ can-
not stand.
(2.) On the same ground the incarnation of the Son of God is re-
jected as aroVwi/ dro'T-Jirarov, — the most absurd conception that ever be-
fell the minds of men. Now it is to no purpose to dispute with men
so persuaded, about justification; yea, we will freely acknowledge
that all things we believe about it are ypauidug im-j&oi, — no better than
old wives' tales, — if the incarnation of the Son of God be so also. For
I can as well understand how he Avho is a mere man, however
48 ox JUSTIFICATION.
exalted, dignified, and glorified, can exercise a spiritual rule in and
over the hearts, consciences, and thoughts of all the men in the world,
being intimately knowing of and present unto them all equally at all
times (which is another of their fopperies), as how the righteousness
and obedience of one should be esteemed the righteousness of all
that believe, if that one be no more than a man, if he be not acknow-
ledged to be the Son of God incarnate.
Whilst the minds of men are prepossessed with such prejudices,
nay, unless they firmly assent unto the truth in these foundations of
it, it is impossible to convince them of the truth and necessity of
that justification of a sinner which is revealed in the gospel. Allow
the Lord Christ to be no other person but what they believe him to
be, and I will grant there can be no other way of justification than
what they declare ; though I cannot believe that ever any sinner will
be justified thereby. These are the issues of an obstinate refusal to
give way unto the introduction of the mystery of God and his grace
into the way of salvation and our relation unto him.
And he who would desire an instance of the fertility of men's in-
ventions in forging and coining objections against heavenly mysteries,
in the justification of the sovereignty of their own reason, as unto
what belongs to our relation unto God, need go no farther than the
writings of these men against the Trinity and incarnation of the
eternal Word. For this is their fundamental rule, in things divine and
doctrines of religion, — That not tuhat the Scripture saith is therefore
to be accounted true, although it seems repugnant unto any reason-
ings of ours, or is above tvhat tue can comprehend ; but what seems
repugnant unto our reason, let the words of the Scripture be what
they will, that lue must conclude that the Scripture doth not say so,
though it seem never so expressly so to do. " Itaque non quia utrum-
que Scriptura dicat, propterea hsec inter se non pugnare concludendum
est; sed potius quia hsec inter se pugnant, ideo alterutrum a Scriptura
non dici statuendum est," saith Schlichting^ ad Meisn. De£ Socin. p.
102 ; — " Wherefore, because the Scripture affirms both these" (that is,
the efficacy of God's grace and the freedom of our wills), " we cannot
conclude from thence that they are not repugnant; but because these
things are repugnant unto one another, we must determine that one
of them is not spoken in the Scripture : " — no, it seems, let it say what
it will. This is the handsomest way they can take in advancing their
own reason above the Scripture ; which yet savours of intolerable pre-
sumption. So Socinus^ himself, speaking of the satisfaction of Christ,
saith, m plain terms: " Ego quid em etiamsi non semel sed ssepius id
' See vol. ii. 349. The works of this Socinian author form one volume in the
*' Bibliotheea Fratrum Polouorum."— Ed.
2 See vol. ii. 392.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 49
in sacris monumentis scriptum extaret, non idcirco tamen ita prorsus
rem se habere crederem, ut vos opinamini; cum enim id omnino
fieri non possit, non secus atque in multis aliis Scripturse Testimoniis,
una cum casteris omnibus facio ; aliqua, quae minus incommoda vide-
retur, interpretatione adhibitti, eum sensum ex ejusmodi verbis elice-
rem qui sibi constaret;" — " For my part, if this (doctrine) were extant
and written in the holy Scripture, not once, but often, yet would I
not therefore believe it to be so as you do ; for whereas it can by
no means be so (whatever the Scripture saith), I would, as I do with
others in other places, make use of some less incommodious interpre-
tation, whereby I would draw a sense out of the words that should
be consistent with itself." And how he would do this he declares a
little before : " Sacra verba in alium sensum, quaiii verba sonant, per
inusitatos etiam tropos quandoque explicantur." He would explain
the words into another sense than what they sound or propose, by
unusual tropes. And, indeed, such uncouth tropes doth he apply, as
so many engines and machines, to pervert all the divine testimonies
concerning our redemption, reconciliation, and justification by the
blood of Christ.
Having therefore fixed this as their rule, constantly to prefer their
o-svn reason above the express words of the Scripture, which must,
therefore, by one means or other, be so perverted or wrested as to be
made compliant therewith, it is endless to trace them in their multi-
plied objections against the holy mysteries, all resolved into this one
principle, that their reason cannot comprehend them, nor doth ap-
prove of them. And if any man would have an especial instance of
the serpentine wits of men winding themselves from under the power
of conviction by the spiritual light of truth, or at least endeavouring
so to do, let him read the comments of the Jewish rabbins on Isaiah,
chap, liii., and of the Socinians on the beginning of the Gospel of
John.
2. The second branch of this repugnancy springeth from the want
of a due comprehension of that harmony which is in the mystery
of grace, and between all the parts of it. This comprehension is the
principal ejBfect of that wisdom which believers are taught by the
Holy Ghost. For our understanding of the wisdom of God in a
mystery is neither an art nor a science, whether purely speculative
or more practical, but a spiritual wisdom. And this spiritual wisdom
is such as understands and apprehends things, not so much, or not
only in the notion of them, as in their power, reality, and efficacy,
towards their proper ends. And, therefore, although it may be very
few, unless they be learned, judicious, and diligent in the use of
means of all sorts, do attain unto it clearly and distinctly in the
doctrinal notions of it; yet are all true believers, yea, the meanest
VOL. V. 4
50 ON JUSTIFICATION.
of them, directed and enabled by the Holy Spirit, as unto their own
practice and duty, to act suitably unto a comprehension of this har-
mony, according to the promise that " they shall be all taught of
God/' Hence, those things which appear unto others contradictory
and inconsistent one with another, so as that they are forced to offer
violence unto the Scripture and their own experience in the rejec-
tion of the one or the other of them, are reconciled in their minds
and made mutually useful or helpful unto one another, in the whole
course of their obedience. But these things must be farther spoken
unto.
Such an harmony as that intended there is in the whole mystery
of God. For it is the most curious effect and product of divine
wisdom; and it is no impeachment of the truth of it, that it is not
discernible by human reason. A full comprehension of it no creature
can in this world arise unto. Only, in the contemplation of faith,
we may arrive unto such an understanding admiration of it as shall
enable us to give glory unto God, and to make use of all the parts
of it in practice as we have occasion. Concerning it the holy man
mentioned before cried out,''n avi^i^vidffrov drj/^iovpyiag- — "0 unsearch-
able contrivance and operation!" And so is it expressed by the
apostle, as that which hath an unfathomable depth of wisdom in it,
"^n. ftddog TXovrou, etc. ; — " 0 the depth of the riches both of the wis-
dom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out!" Rom. xi. 83-36. See to the same
purpose, Eph. iii. 8-10.
There is an harmony, a suitableness of one thing unto another, in
all the works of creation. Yet we see that it is not perfectly nor
absolutely discoverable unto the wisest and most diligent of men.
How far are they from an agreement about the order and motions
of the heavenly bodies, of the sympathies and qualities of sundry
things here below, in the relation of causality and efficiency between
one thing and another ! The new discoveries made concerning any
of them, do only evidence how far men are from a just and perfect
comprehension of them. Yet such a universal harmony there is in
all the parts of nature and its operations, that nothing in its proper
station and operation is destructively contradictory either to the
whole or any part of it, but every thing contributes unto the preser-
vation and use of the universe. But although this harmony be not
absolutely comprehensible by any, yet do all living creatures, who
follow the conduct or instinct of nature, make use of it, and live
upon it ; and without it neither their being could be preserved, nor
their operations continued.
But in the mystery of God and his grace, the harmony and suit-
ableness of one thing unto another, with their tendency unto the
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 61
same end, is incomparably more excellent and glorious than that
which is seen in nature or the works of it. For whereas God made
all things at first in wisdom, yet is the new creation of all things by
Jesus Cliiist ascribed peculiarly unto the riches, stores, and treasures
of that infinite wisdom. Neither can any discern it unless they are
taught of God ; for it is only spiritually discerned. But yet is it by
the most despised. Some seem to think that there is no great wis-
dom in it ; and some, that no great wisdom is required unto the com-
prehension of it : few think it Avorth the while to spend half that time
in prayer, in meditation, in the exercise of self-denial, mortification,
and holy obedience, doing the will of Christ, that they may know of
his word, to the attaining of a due comprehension of the mysteiy of
godliness, as some do in diligence, study, and trial of experiments,
who design to excel in natural or mathematical sciences. Wherefore
there are three things evident herein : —
1. That such an harmony there is in all the parts of the mystery
of God, wherein all the blessed properties of the divine nature are
glorified, our duty in all instances is directed and engaged, our salva-
tion in the way of obedience secured, and Christ, as the end of all,
exalted. Wherefore, we are not only to consider and know the several
parts of the doctrine of spiritual truth, but their relation, also, one unto
another, their consistency one with another in practice, and their
mutual furtherance of one another unto their common end. And a
disorder in our apprehensions about any part of that whose beauty
and use ariseth from its harmony, gives some confusion of mind with
respect unto the whole.
2. That unto a comprehension of this harmony in a due measure,
it is necessary that we be taught of God; without which we can never
be wise in the knowledge of the mystery of his grace. And herein
ought we to place the principal part of our diligence, in our inquiries
into the truths of the gospel.
3. All those who are taught of God to know' his will, unless it be
when their minds are disordered by prejudices, false opinions, or
temptations, have an experience in themselves and their own prac-
tical obedience, of the consistency of all parts of the mystery of God's
grace and truth in Christ among themselves, — of their spiritual har-
mony and cogent tendency unto the same end. The introduction of
the grace of Christ into our relation unto God, makes no confusion
or disorder in their minds, by the conflict of the principles of natural
reason, with respect unto our fii'st relation unto God, and those of
gi'ace, with respect unto that whereunto we are renewed.
From the want of a due comprehension of this divine harmony it
is, that the minds of men are filled with imaginations of an mconsis-
tency between the most important parts of the mystery of the gospel,
52 ON JUSTIFICATION.
from whence the confusions that are at this day in Christian religion
do proceed.
Thus the Socinians can see no consistency between the grace or
love of God and the satisfaction of Christ, but imagine if the one
of them be admitted, the other must be excluded out of our religion.
Wherefore they principally oppose the latter, under a pretence of
asserting and vindicating the former. And where these things are
expressly conjoined in the same proposition of faith, — as where it is
said that " we are justified freely by the grace of God, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood," Rom. iii. 24, 25, — they
will offer violence unto common sense and reason, rather than not
disturb that harmony which they cannot understand. For although
it be plainly afiirmed to be a redemption by his blood, as he is a
propitiation, as his blood was a ransom or price of redemption, yet
they will contend that it is only metaphorical, — a mere deliverance by
power, like that of the Israelites by Moses. But these things are
clearly stated in the gospel; and therefore not only consistent, but
such as that the one cannot subsist without the other. Nor is there
any mention of any especial love or grace of God unto sinners, but
with respect unto the satisfaction of Christ as the means of the com-
munication of all its effects unto them. See John iii. 16; Rom.
iii. 23-25, viii. 30-33; 2 Cor. v. 19-21; Eph. i. 7, etc.
In like manner, they can see no consistency between the satisfac-
tion of Christ and the necessity of holiness or obedience in them
tliat do believe. Hence they continually clamour, that, by our doc-
trine of the mediation of Christ, we overthrow all obligations unto a
holy life. And by their sophistical reasonings unto this purpose,
they prevail with many to embrace their delusion, who have not a
spiritual experience to confront their sophistry withal. But as the
testimony of the Scripture lieth expressly against them, so those who
truly believe, and have real experience of the influence of that truth
into the life of God, and how impossible it is to yield any acceptable
obedience herein without respect thereunto, are secured from their
snares.
These and the like imaginations arise from tlie unwilHngness of
men to admit of the introduction of the mystery of gi'ace into our
relation unto God. For suppose us to stand before God on the old
constitution of the covenant of creation, which alone natural reason
likes and is comprehensive of, and we do acknowledge these things
to be inconsistent. But the mystery of the wisdom and grace of God
in Christ cannot stand without them both.
So, likewise, God's efficacious grace in the conversion of sinners,
and the exercise of the faculties of their minds in a way of duty,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 53
are asserted as contradictory and inconsistent. And although they
seem both to be positively and frequently declared in the Scripture,
yet, say these men, their consistency being repugnant to their reason,
let the Scripture say what it will, yet is it to be said by us that the
Scripture doth not assert one of them. And this is from the same
cause ; men cannot, in their wisdom, see it possible that the mystery
of God's grace should be introduced into our relation and obedience
unto God. Hence have many ages of the church, especially the last
of them, been fiUed with endless disputes, in opposition to the grace
of God, or to accommodate the conceptions of it unto the interests
of corrupted reason.
But there is no instance more pregnant unto this purpose than
that under our present consideration. Free justification, through the
imputation of the righteousness of Christ, is cried out against, as in-
consistent with a necessity of personal holiness and obedience : and
because the Socinians insist principally on this pretence, it shall be
fully and diligently considered apart; and that holiness which, with-
out it, they and others deriving from them do pretend unto, shall be
tried by the unerring rule.
Wherefore I desire it may be observed, that in pleading for this
doctrine, we do it as a principal part of the introduction of grace into
our whole relation unto God. Hence we grant, —
1. That it is unsuited, yea foolish, and, as some speak, childish,
unto the principles of unenlightened and unsanctified reason or un-
derstandings of men. And this we conceive to be the principal cause
of all the oppositions that are made unto it, and all the depravations
of it that the church is pestered withal. Hence are the wits of men
so fertile in sophistical cavils against it, so ready to load it with seem-
ing absurdities, and I know not what unsuitableness unto their
wondrous rational conceptions. And no objection can be made
against it, be it never so trivial, but it is highly applauded by those
who look on that introduction of the mystery of grace, which is above
their natural conceptions, as unintelligible folly.
2. That the necessary relation of these things, one unto the other,
— namely, of justification by the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, and the necessity of our personal obedience, — will not be
clearly understood, nor duly improved, but by and in the exercise of
the wisdom of faith. This we grant also ; and let who will make what
advantage they can of this concession. True faith hath that spiritual
light in it, or accompanying of it, as that it is able to receive it, and
to conduct the soul unto obedience by it. Wherefore, reserving the
particular consideration hereof unto its proper place, I say, in gene-
ral,—
(1.) That this relation is evident unto that spiritual wisdom
54 ON JUSTIFICATION.
whereby we are enabled, doctrinally and practically, to comprehend
the harmony of the mystery of God, and the consistency of all the
parts of it, one with another.
(2.) That it is made evident by the Scripture, Avherein both these
things — -justification through the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, and the necessity of our personal obedience — are plainly as-
serted and declared. And we defy that rule of the Socinians, that
seeing these things are inconsistent in their apprehension or unto
their reason, therefore we must say that one of them is not taught
in the Scripture: for whatever it may appear unto their reason, it
doth not so to ours; and we have at least as good reason to trust
unto our own reason as unto theirs. Yet we absolutely acquiesce in
neither, but in the authority of God in the Scripture; rejoicing only
in this, that we can set our seal unto his revelations by our own ex-
perience. For, —
(3.) It is fully evident in the gracious cond*uct which the minds of
them that believe are under, even that of the Spirit of truth and
grace, and the inclinations of that new principle of the divine life
whereby they are acted; for although, from the remainders of sin
and darkness that are in them, temptations may arise unto a con-
tinuation in sin because grace hath abounded, yet are their minds
so formed and framed by the doctrine of this grace, and the grace
of this doctrine, that the abounding of grace herein is the prin-
cipal motive unto their abounding in holiness, as we shall see after-
ward.
And this we aver to be the spring of all those objections which the
adversaries of this doctrine do continually endeavour to entangle it
withal. As, — 1. If the passive righteousness (as it is commonly called),
that is, his death and suffering, be imputed unto us, there is no need,
nor can it be, that his active righteousness, or the obedience of his
life, should be imputed unto us ; and so on the contrary : for both to-
gether are inconsistent. 2. That if all sin be pardoned, there is no
need of the righteousness ; and so on the contrary, if the righteous-
ness of Christ be imputed unto us, there is no room for, or need of,
the pardon of sin. 3. If we believe the pardon of our sins, then are
our sins pardoned before we believe, or we are bound to believe that
which is not so. 4. If the righteousness of Christ be imputed unto
us, then are we esteemed to have done and suffered what, indeed, we
never did nor suffered ; and it is true, that if we are esteemed our-
selves to have done it, imputation is overthrown. 5. If Christ's right-
eousness be imputed unto us, then are we as righteous as was Christ
himself 6. If our sins were imputed unto Christ, then was he
thought to have sinned, and was a sinner subjectively. 7. If good
works be excluded from any interest in our justification before God,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 65
then are they of no use unto our salvation. 8. That it is ridiculous
to think that where there is no sin, there is not all the righteousness
that can be required. 9. That righteousness imputed is only a, pu-
tative or imaginary righteousness, etc.
Now, although all these and the like objections, however subtilely
managed (as Socmus boasts that he had used more than ordinary
subtilty in this cause, — " In quo, si subtilius aliquanto quam opus
esse videretur, qusedam a nobis disputata sunt,'' De Servat., par. iv.,
cap. 4.), are capable of plain and clear solutions, and we shall avoid
the examination of none of them; yet at present I shall only say,
that all the shades which they cast on the minds of men do vanish
and disappear before the light of express Scripture testimonies, and
the exjDerience of them that do believe, where there is a due compre-
hension of the mystery of grace in any tolerable measure.
Seventhly. There are some common prejudices, that are usually
pleaded against the doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness
of Christ; which, because they will not orderly fall under a particu-
lar consideration in our progress, may be briefly examined in these
general previous considerations: —
1. It is usually urged against it, that this imputation of the right-
eousness of Christ is nowhere mentioned expressly in the Scripture.
This is the first objection of Bellarmine against it. " Hactenus,'^
saith he, " nullum omnino locum invenire potuerunt, ubi legeretur
Christijustitiam nobis imputari ad justitiam; vel nos justos esse per
Christi justitiam nobis imputatam," De Justificat., lib. ii. cap. 7; —
an objection, doubtless, unreasonably and immodestly urged by men
of this persuasion; for not only do they make profession of their
whole faith, or their belief of all things in matters of religion, in
teiTQS and expressions nowhere used in the Scripture, but believe
many things also, as they say, with faith divine, not at all revealed
or contained in the Scripture, but drained by them out of the tradi-
tions of the church. I do not, therefore, understand how such per-
sons can modestly manage this- as an objection against any doctrine,
that the terms wherein some do express it are not /sjjrwg, — found in the
Scripture just in that order of one word after another as by them
they are used ; for this rule may be much enlarged, and yet be kept
strait enough to exclude the principal concerns of their church out
of the confines of Christianity. Nor can I apprehend much more
equity in others, who reflect with severity on this expression of the
imputation of the righteousness of Christ as unscriptural, as if those
who make use thereof were criminal in no small degree, when them-
selves, immediately in the declaration of their own judgment, make
use of such terms, distinctions, and expressions, as are so far from
being in the Scripture, as that it is odds they had never been in the
56 ON JUSTIFICATION.
world, liad they escaped Aristotle's mint, or that of the schools de-
riving from him.
And thus, although a sufficient answer hath frequently enough (if
any thing can be so) been returned unto this objection in Bellarmine,
yet hath one of late amongst ourselves made the translation of it into
English to be the substance of the first chapter of a book about jus-
tification ; though he needed not to have given such an early intima-
tion unto whom he is beholding for the greatest part of his ensuing
discourse, unless it be what is taken up in despiteful revilings of other
men. For take from him what is not his o-wn, on the one hand, and
impertinent cavils at the words and expressions of other men, with
forged imputations on some of tliem, on the other, and his whole
book will disappear. But yet, although he affirms that none of the
Protestant writers, who speak of the imputation of the righteousness
of Christ unto us (which were all of them, without exception, until of
late), have precisely kept to the form of wholesome words, but have
rather swerved and varied from the language of the Scripture ; yet he
will excuse them from open error, if they intend no more thereby
but that we are made partakers of the benefits of the righteousness
of Christ. But if they intend that the righteousness of Christ itself
is imputed unto us (that is, so as to be our righteousness before God,
whereon we are pardoned and accepted with him, or do receive the
forgiveness of sins, and a right to the heavenly inheritance), then are
they guilty of that error which makes us to be esteemed to do our-
selves what Christ did ; and so on the other side, Christ to have done
what Ave do and did, chap. 2, 3. But these things are not so. For,
if we are esteemed to have done any thing in our own persons, it
cannot be imputed unto us as done for us by another; as it will ap-
pear when we shall treat of these things afterward. But the great
and holy persons intended, are as little concerned in the accusations
or apologies of some writers, as those writers seem to be acquainted
with that learning, wisdom, and judgment, wherein they did excel,
and the characters whereof are so eminently conspicuous in all their
writings.
But the judgment of most Protestants is not only candidly ex-
pressed, but approved of also by Bellarmine himself in another place.
" Non esset," saith he, " absurdum, si quis diceret nobis imputari
Christi justitiam et merita; cum nobis donentur et applicentur; ac si
nos ipsi Deo satisfecissamus." De Justif, lib. ii. cap. 10; — " It were
not absurd, if any one should say that the righteousness and merits
of Christ are imputed unto us, when they are given and applied unto
us, as if we ourselves had satisfied God." And this he confirms with
that saying of Bernard, Epist. ad Innocent, cxc, "Nam 'si unus pro
omnibus mortuus est, ergo omnes mortui sunt,' ut videlicet satisfactio
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 57
unius omnibus imputetur, sicut omnium peccata unus ille portavit."
And those who will acknowledge no more in this matter, but only a
participation qiiovis modo, one way or other, of the benefits of the
obedience and righteousness of Christ, wherein we have the concur-
rence of the Socinians also, might do well, as I suppose, plainly to
deny all imputation of his righteousness unto us in any sense, as they
do, seeing the benefits of his righteousness cannot be said to be im-
puted unto us, what way soever we are made partakers of them. For
to say that the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us, with re-
spect unto the benefits of it, when neither the righteousness itself is
imputed unto us, nor can the benefits of it be imputed unto us, as
we shall see afterward, doth minister gi'eat occasion of much needless
variance and contests. Neither do I know any reason why men
should seek countenance unto this doctrine under such an expres-
sion as themselves reflect upon as unscriptural, if they be contented
that their minds and sense should be clearly understood and appre-
hended ; — for truth needs no subterfuge.
The Socinians do now principally make use of this objection. For,
finding the whole church of God in the use of sundry expressions, in
the declaration of the most important truths of the gospel, that are
not literally contained in the Scripture, they hoped for an advantage
from thence in their opposition unto the things themselves. Such
are the terms of the Trinity, the incarnation, satisfaction, and merit
of Christ, as this also, of the imputation of his righteousness. How
little they have prevailed in the other instances, hath been suffi-
ciently manifested by them with whom they have had to do. But as
unto that part of this objection which concerns the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ unto believers, those by whom it is asserted
do say, —
(1.) That it is the thing alone intended which they plead for. If
that be not contained in the Scripture, if it be not plainly taught and
confirmed therein, they will speedily relinquish it. But if they can
prove that the doctrine which they intend in this expression, and
which is thereby plainly declared unto the understandings of men, i;*
a divine truth sufficiently witnessed unto in the Scripture; then is
this expression of it reductively scriptural, and the truth itself so
expressed a divine verity. To deny this, is to take away all use of
the interpretation of the Scripture, and to overthrow the ministry of
the church. This, therefore, is to be alone inquired into.
(2.) They say, the same thing is taught and expressed in the
Scripture in phrases equipollent. For it affirms that " by the obe-
dience of one" (that is Christ), "many are made righteous," Rom.
v. 19; and that we are made righteous by the imputation of right-
eousness imto us, " Blessed is the man unto whom God imputcth
58 ON JUSTIFICATION.
rigliteousness without works/' cliap. iv. 6. And if we are made
righteous by the imputation of righteousness unto us, that obedience
or righteousness whereby we are made righteous is imputed unto us.
And they will be content with this expression of this doctrine, — that
the obedience of Christ whereby we are made righteous, is the right-
eousness that God imputeth unto us. Wherefore, this objection is of
no force to disadvantage the truth pleaded for.
2. Socinus objects, in particular, against this doctrine of justification
by the imputation of the lighteousness of Christ, and of his satisfac-
tion, that there is nothing said of it in the Evangelists, nor in the
report of the sermons of Christ unto the people, nor yet in those of
his pj'ivate discourses tuith his disciples; and he urgeth it vehe-
mently and at large against the whole of the expiation of sin by his
death, De Servator., par. iv. cap. 9. And as it is easy "malis inventis
pejora addere," this notion of his is not only made use of and pressed
at large by one among ourselves, but improved also by a dangerous
comparison between the writings of the evangelists and the other writ-
ings of the New Testament. For to enforce this argument, that the
histories of the gospel, wherein the sermons of Christ are recorded,
do make no mention of the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ (as in his judgment they do not), nor of his satisfaction, or
merit, or expiation of sin, or of redemption by his death (as they
do not in the judgment of Socinus), it is added by him, that for his
part he is apt to admire our Saviour s sermons, ivho was tlie author
of our religion, before the writings of the apostles, though inspired
men. Whereunto many dangerous insinuations and reflections on
the writings of St Paul, contrary to the faith and sense of the church
in all ages, are subjoined. See pp. 240, 241.
But this boldness is not only unwarrantable, but to be abhorred
What place of Scripture, what ecclesiastical tradition, what single
precedent of any one sober Christian writer, what theological reason,
will countenance a man in making the comparison mentioned, and
so determining thereon? Such juvenile boldness, such want of a
*due apprehension and understanding of the nature of divine inspira-
tion, with the order and design of the writings of the New Testa-
ment, which are the springs of this precipitate censure, ought to be
reflected on. At present, to remove this pretence out of our way, it
may be observed, —
(1.) That what the Lord Christ taught his disciples, in his per-
sonal ministi'y on the earth, was suited unto that economy of the
church which was antecedent unto his death and resurrection. No-
thing did he withhold from them that was needful to theh faith, obe-
dience, and consolation in that state. Many things he instructed them
in out of tlie Scripture, many new revelations he made unto them,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS, 59
and many times did he occasionally instruct and rectify their judg-
ments ; howbeit he made no clear, distinct revelation of those sacred
mysteries unto them which are peculia?' unto the faith of the Nero
Testament, nor were to be distinctly apprehended before his death
and resurrection.
(2.) What the Lord Christ revealed afterward by liis Spirit unto
the apostles, was no less immediately from himself than was the
truth which he spoke unto them with his own mouth in the days of
his flesh. An apprehension to the contrary is destructive of Chris-
tian religion. The epistles of the apostles are no less Christ's ser-
mons than that which he delivered on the mount. Wherefore, —
(3.) Neither in the things themselves, nor in the way of their de-
livery or revelation, is there any advantage of the one sort of writ-
ings above the other. The things written in the epistles proceed
from the same wisdom, the same grace, the same love, with the
things which he spoke with his own mouth in the days of his flesh,
and are of the same divine veracity, authority, and efficacy. The
revelation which he made by his Spirit is no less divine and imme-
diate from himself, than what he spoke unto his disciples on the earth.
To distingiiish between these things, on any of these accounts, is in-
tolerable folly.
(•1.) The writings of the evangelists do not contain the whole of
all the instructions which the Lord Clu'ist gave unto his disciples
jjersonally on the earth. For he was seen of them after his resur-
rection forty days, and spoke with them of " the things pertaining to
the kingdom of God," Acts i. 3 ; and yet nothing hereof is recorded
in their writings, but only some few occasional speeches. Nor had
he given before unto them a clear and distinct understanding of those
things which were delivered concerning his death and resurrection
in the Old Testament; as is plainly declared, Luke xxiv. 25-27.
For it was not necessary for them, in that state wherein they were.
Wherefore, —
(5.) As to the extent of divine revelations objectively, those which
he gi'anted, by his Spirit, unto his apostles after his ascension, were
beyond those which he personally taught them, so far as they are
recorded in the ^vritings of the evangelists. For he told them plainly,
not long before his death, that he had many things to say unto them
which " then they could not bear," John xvi. 12. And for the
knowledge of those things, he refers them to the coming of the
Spirit to make revelation of them from himself, in the next words,
" Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he
shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it
60 ON JUSTIFICATION.
unto you," verses IS, 14. And on tliis account he had told them be-
fore, that it was expedient for them that he should go away, that the
Holy Spirit might come unto them, whom he would send from the
Father, verse 7. Hereunto he referred the full and clear manifesta-
tion of the mysteries of the gospel. So false, as well as dangerous
and scandalous, are those insinuations of Socinus and his followers.
(6.) The writings of the evangelists are full unto their proper ends
and purposes. These were, to record the genealogy, conception, birth,
acts, miracles, and teachings of our Saviour, so far as to evince him
to be the true, only-promised Messiah. So he testifieth who wrote the
last of them : " Many other signs truly did Jesus, which are not
written in this book : but these are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," John xx. 30, 31. Unto
this end every thing is recorded by them that is needful unto the
ingenerating and establishing of faith. Upon this confirmation, all
things declared in the Old Testament concerning him — all that was
taught in types and sacrifices — became the object of faith, in that
sense wherein they were interpreted in the accomplishment; and that
in them this doctrine was before revealed, shall be proved afterward.
It is, therefore, no wonder if some things, and those of the highest
importance, should be declared more fully in other -writings of the
New Testament than they are in those of the evangelists.
(7.) The pretence itself is wholly false; for there are as many
pregnant testimonies given unto this truth in one alone of the evan-
gelists as in any other book of the New Testament, — namely, in the
book of John. I shall refer to some of them, which will be pleaded
in their proper place, chap. i. 12, 17, iii. 14-18, 36, v. 24.
But we may pass this by, as one of those inventions concerning
which Socinus boasts, in his epistle to Michael Vajoditus, that his
writings were esteemed by many for the singularity of things asserted
in them.
3. The difference that hath been among Protestant writers about
this doctrine is pleaded in the prejudice of it. Osiander, in the
entrance of the reformation, fell into a vain imagination, that we
were justified or made righteous with the essential righteousness of
God, communicated unto us by Jesus Christ. And whereas he was
opposed herein with some severity by the most learned persons of
those days, to countenance himself in his singularity, he pretended
that there were tiuenty diff'erent opinions amongst the Protestants
themselves about the formal cause of our justification before God.
This was quickly laid hold on by them of the Roman church, and is
urged as a prejudice against the whole doctrine, by Bellarmine,
Yasquez, and others. But the vanity of this pretence of his hath
been sufficiently discovered ; and Bellarmine himself could fancy but
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 61
four oimiions among them that seemed to be different from one
another, reckoning that of Osiander for one, De Justificat., Kb. ii.
cap. 1. But whereas he knew that the imagination of Osiander was
exploded by them all, the other three that he mentions are indeed
but distinct parts of the same entire doctrine. Wherefore, imtil of
late it might be truly said, that the faith and doctrine of all Protes-
tants was in this article entirely the same. For however they differed
in the way, manner, and methods of its declaration, and too many
private men were addicted unto definitions and descriptions of their
own, under pretence of logical accuracy in teaching, which gave an
appearance of some contradiction among them ; yet in this they gene-
rally agreed, that it is the righteousness of Christ, and not our own,
on the account whereof we receive the pardon of sin, acceptance with
God, are declared righteous by the gospel, and have a right and title
unto the heavenly inheritance. Hereon, I say, they were generally
agi'eed, first against the Papists, and afterward against the Soeinians;
and where this is gi-anted, I will not contend with any man about
his way of declaring the doctrine of it.
And that I may add it by the way, we have herein the concurrence
of the fathers of the primitive church. For although by justifica-
tion, following the etymology of the Latin word, they understood the
making us righteous with internal personal righteousness, — at least
some of them did so, as Austin in particular, — yet that we are par-
doned and accepted with God on any other account but that of the
righteousness of Christ, they believed not. And whereas, especially
in their controversy with the Pelagians, after the rising of that heresy,
they plead ^^ehemently that we are made righteous by the grace of
God changing our hearts and natures, and creating in us a principle
of spiritual life and holiness, and not by the endeavours of our own
free will, or works performed in the strength thereof, their words
and expressions have been abused, contrary to their intention and
design.
For we wholly concur with them, and subscribe unto all that they
dispute about the making of us personally righteous and holy by
the effectual grace of God, against all merit of works and operations
of our own free will (our sanctification being every way as mucli of
grace as our justification, properly so called); and that in opposition
unto the common doctrine of the Roman church about the same
matter : only they call this our being made inherently and personally
righteous by gTace, aometimes by the name of justification, which we
do not. And this is laid hold on as an advantage by those of the
Roman church who do not concur with them in the way and manner
whereby we are so made righteous. But whereas by our justification
before God, we intend only that righteousness whereon our sins are
62 ON JUSTIFICATION.
pardoned, wherewith we are made righteous in his sight, or for which
we are accepted as righteous before him, it will be hard to find any
of them assigning of it unto any other causes than the Protestants
do. So it is fallen out, that what they design to prove, we entirely
comply with them in ; but the way and manner whereby they prove
it is made use of by the Papists unto another end, which they in-
tended not.
But as to the way and manner of the declaration of this doctrine
among Protestants themselves, there ever was some variety and dif-
ference in expressions; nor will it otherwise be whilst the abilities
and capacities of men, whether in the conceiving of things of this
nature, or in the expression of their conceptions, are so various as
they are. And it is acknowledged that these differences of late have
had by some as much weight laid upon them as the substance of
the doctrine generally agreed in. Hence some have composed en-
tire books, consisting almost of nothing but impertinent cavils at
other men's words and expressions. But these things proceed from
the weakness of some men, and other vicious habits of their minds,
and do not belong unto the cause itself And such persons, as for
me, shall write as they do, and fight on until they are weary. Neither
hath the multiplication of questions, and the curious discussion of
them in the handling of this doctrine, wherein nothing ought to be
diligently insisted on but what is directive of our practice, been of
much use unto the truth itself, though it hath not been directly op-
posed in them.
That which is of real difference among persons who agree in the
substance of the doctrine, may be reduced unto a very few heads;
as, — (1.) There is something of this kind about the nature of faith
■whereby we are justified, with its proper object in justifying, and its
use in justification. And an instance we have herein, not only of the
weakness of our intellects in the apprehension of spiritual things, but
also of the remainders of confusion and disorder in our minds; at least,
how true it is that we know only in part, and prophesy only in part,
whilst we are in this life. For whereas this faith is an act of oior
minds, put forth in the way of duty to God, yet many by whom it is
sincerely exercised, and that continually, are not agreed either in the
nature or proper object of it. Yet is there no doubt but that some
of them who differ amongst themselves about these things, have de-
livered their minds free from the prepossession of prejudices and no-
tions derived from other artificial reasonings imposed on them, and
do really express their own conceptions as to the best and utmost of
tlieir experience. And notwithstanding this difference, they do yet
all of them please God in the exercise of faith, as it is their duty, and
have that respect unto its proper object as secures both their justifi-
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 63
cation and salvation. And if we cannot, on this consideration, bear
with, and forbear, one another in our different conceptions and ex-
pressions of those conceptions about these things, it is a sign we have
a great mind to be contentious, and that our confidences are built on
very weak foundations. For my part, I had much rather my lot
should be found among them who do really believe with the heart
unto righteousness, though they are not able to give a tolerable de-
finition of faith unto others, than among them who can endlessly dis-
pute about it with seeming accuracy and skill, but are negligent in
the exercise of it as their o^vn duty. Wherefore, some things shall
be briefly spoken of in this matter, to declare my own apprehensions
concerning the things mentioned, without the least design to contra-
dict or oppose the conceptions of others.
(2.) There hath been a controversy more directly stated among
some learned divines of the Reformed churches (for the Lutherans are
unanimous on the one side), about the righteousness of Christ that
is said to be imputed, unto us. For some would have this to be only
his suffering of death, and the satisfaction which he made for sin
thereby, and others include therein the obedience of his life also.
The occasion, original, and progi'ess of this controversy, the persons
by whom it hath been managed, with the writings wherein it is so,
and the various ways that have been endeavoured for its reconcilia-
tion, are sufficiently known unto all who have inquired into these
things. Neither shall I immix myself herein, in the way of contro-
versy, or in opposition unto others, though I shall freely declare my
own judgment in it, so far as the consideration of the righteousness
of Christ, under this distinction, is inseparable from the substance of
the truth itself which I plead for.
(8.) Some difference there hath been, also, whether the righteous-
ness of Christ imputed unto us, or the imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ, may be said to be the formal cause of our justification
before God; wherein there appears some variety of expression among
learned men, who have handled this subject in the way of controversy
with the Papists. The true occasion of the differences about this
expression hath been this, and no other : Those of the Roman church
do constantly assert, that the righteousness whereby we are righteous
before God is the formal cause of our justification ; and this right-
eousness, they say, is our own inherent, personal righteousness, and
not the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us: wherefore they
treat of this whole controversy — namely, what is the righteousness
on the account whereof we are accepted with God, or justified — under
the name of the formal cause of justification; which is the subject of
the second book of Bellarmine concerning justification. In opposi-
tion unto them, some Protestants, contendiua- that the righteousness
64 ON JUSTIFICATION.
wherewith we are esteemed righteous before God, and accepted with
him, is the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us, and not our own
inherent, imperfect, personal righteousness, have done it under this in-
qiuiy, — namely. What is the formal cause of our justification? which
some have said to be the imputation of the righteousness of Christ,
— some, the righteousness of Christ imputed. But what they de-
signed herein was, not to resolve this controversy into a philosophi-
cal inquiry about the nature of a formal cause, but only to prove
that that truly belonged unto the righteousness of Christ in our jus-
tification which the Papists ascribed unto our own, under that name.
That there is an habitual, infused habit of grace, which is the formal
cause of our personal, inherent righteousness, they grant : but they
all deny that Ood pardons our sins, and justifies our persons, with
respect unto this righteousness, as the formal cause thereof ; nay,
they deny that in the justification of a sinner there either is, or can
be, any inherent formal cause of it. And what they mean by a for-
mal cause in our justification, is only that which gives the denomina-
tion unto the subject, as the imputation of the righteousness of Christ
doth to a person that he is justified.
Wherefore, notwithstanding the differences that have been among
some in the various expression of their conceptions, the substance of
the doctrine of the reformed churches is by them agreed upon and
retained entire. For they all agree that God justifieth no sinner, —
absolveth him not from guilt, nor declareth him righteous, so as to
have a title unto the heavenly inheritance, — but with respect unto a
true and perfect righteousness ; as also, that this righteousness is truly
the righteousness of him that is so justified; that this righteousness
becometh ours by God's free grace and donation, — the way on our
part whereby we come to be really and effectually interested therein
being faith alone ; and that this is the perfect obedience or righte-
ousness of Christ imputed unto us : in these things, as they shall be
afterward distinctly explained, is contained the whole of that truth
whose explanation and confirmation is the design of the ensuing dis-
course. And because those by whom this doctrine in the substance
of it is of late impugned, derive more from the Socinians than the
Papists, and make a nearer approach unto their principles, I shall
chiefly insist on the examination of those original authors by whom
their notions were first coined, and whose weapons they make use of
in their defence.
Eighthly. To close these previous discourses, it is worthy our con-
sideration what iveight ivas laid on this doctrine of justification at
the first Reformation, and what influence it had into the whole work
thereof However the minds of men may be changed as unto sundry
doctrines of faith among us, yet none can justly own the name of
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 65
Protestant, but he must highly vaKie the first Reformation: and
they cannot well do otherwise whose present even temporal advan-
tages are resolved thereinto. However, I intend none but such as
own an especial presence and guidance of God with them who were
eminently and successfully employed therein. Such persons cannot
but grant that their faith in this matter, and the concurrence of their
thoughts about its importance, are worthy consideration.
Now it is known that the doctrine of justification gave the first
occasion to the whole work of reformation, and was the main hingfe
whereon it turned. This those mentioned declared to be "Articulus
stantis aut cadentis ecclesice," and that the vindication thereof alone
deserved all the pains that were taken in the whole endeavour of
reformation. But things are now, and that by virtue of their doctrine
herein, much changed in the world, though it be not so understood
or acknowledged. In general, no small benefit redounded unto the
world by the Reformation, even among them by whom it was not,
nor is received, though many bluster with contrary pretensions : for
all the evils which have accidentally ensued thereon, arising most of
them from the corrupt passions and interests of them by whom it
hath been opposed, are usually ascribed unto it; and all the light,
liberty, and benefit of the minds of men which it hath introduced,
are ascribed unto other causes. But this may be signally observed
with respect unto the doctrine of justification, with the causes and
effects of its discovery and vindication. For the first reformers found
their own, and the consciences of other men, so immersed in darkness,
so pressed and harassed with fears, terrors, and disquietments under
the power of it, and so destitute of any steady guidance into the ways
of peace with God, as that Avith all diligence (like persons sensible
that herein their spiritual and eternal interest was concerned) they
made their inquiries after the truth in this matter; which they knew
must be the only means of their deliverance. All men in those days
were either kept in bondage under endless fears and anxieties of
mind upon the convictions of sin, or sent for relief unto indulgences,
priestly pardons, penances, pilgrimages, works satisfactory of their
own, and supererogatory of others, or kept under chains of darkness
for purgatory unto the last day. Now, he is no way able to compare
things past and present, who sees not how great an alteration is made
in these things even in the papal church. For before the Reforma-
tion, whereby the light of the gospel, especially in this doctrine of
justification, was diffused among men, and shone even into their
minds who never comprehended nor received it, the whole almost
of religion among them was taken up with, and confined unto, these
things. And to instigate men unto an abounding sedulity in the
observation of them, their minds were stuffed with traditions and
VOL. V. 5
GQ ON JUSTIFICATION,
stories of visions, apparitions, frightful spirits, and other imaginations
that poor mortals are apt to be amazed withal, and which their rest-
less disquietments gave countenance unto.
" Somnia, terrores magici, miracula, sagaj
Nocturiii lemures, portentaque Thessala," — [Hor., Ep. ii. 2, 209.]
were the principal objects of their creed, and matter of their religious
conversation. That very church itself is comparatively at ease from
these things unto what it was before the Reformation ; though so much
of them is still retained as to blind the eyes of men from discerning the
necessity as well as the truth of the evangelical doctrine of justification.
It is fallen out herein not much otherwise than it did at the first
entrance of Christianity into the world. For there was an emanation
of light and truth from the gospel which affected the minds of men,
by whom yet the whole of it, in its general design, was opposed and
persecuted. For from thence the very vulgar sort of men became to
have better apprehensions and notions of God and his properties, or
the original and rule of the universe, than they had arrived unto in
the midnight of their paganism. And a sort of learned speculative
men there were, who, by virtue of that light of truth which sprung
from the gospel, and was now diffused into the minds of men, re-
formed and improved the old philosophy, discarding many of those
falsehoods and impertinencies wherewith it had been encumbered.
But when this was done, they still maintained their cause on the old
principles of the philosophers. And, indeed, their opposition unto the
gospel was far more plaasible and pleadable than it was before. For
after they had discarded the gross conceptions of the common sort
about the divine nature and rule, and had blended the light of truth
which brake forth in Christian religion with their own philosophical
notions, they made a vigorous attempt for the reinforcement of hea-
thenism against the main design of the gospel. And things have not,
as I said, fallen out much otherwise in the Reformation. For as, by
the light of truth which therein brake forth, the consciences of even
the vulgar sort are in some measure freed from those childish affright-
ments which they were before in bondage unto; so those who are
learned have been enabled to reduce the opinions and practices of
their church into a more defensible posture, and make their opposi-
tion unto the truths of the gospel more plausible than they formerly
were. Yea, that doctrine which, in the way of its teaching and prac-
tice among them, as also in its effects on the consciences of men, was
so horrid as to drive innumerable persons from their communion in
that and other things also, is now, in the new representation of it,
with the artificial covering provided for its former effects in practice,
thought an argument meet to be pleaded for a return unto its entire
communion.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 67
But to root tlie superstitions mentioned out of the minds of men,
to communicate unto them the knowledge of the righteousness of
God, which is revealed from faith to faith, and thereby to deliver
them from their bondage, fears, and distress, directing convinced sin-
ners unto the only way of solid peace with God, did the first reformers
labour so diligently in the declaration and vindication of the evangeli-
cal doctrine of justification ; and God was with them. And it is worth
our consideration, whether we should, on every cavil and sophism of
men not so taught, not so employed, not so tried, not so owned of
God as they were, and in whose writings there are not appearing such
characters of luisdom, sound judgment, and deep experience, as in
theirs, easily part with that doctrine of truth wherein alone they
found peace unto their own souls, and whereby they were instrumen-
tal to give liberty and peace ^Yith God unto the souls and consciences .
of others innumerable, accompanied with the visible effects of holi-
ness of life, and fruitfulness in the works of righteousness, unto the
praise of God by Jesus Christ.
In my judgment, Luther spake the truth when he said, " Amisso
articulo justificationis, simul amissa est tota doctrina Christiana.''
And I wish he had not been a true prophet, when he foretold that in
the following ages the doctrine hereof would be again obscured ; the
causes whereof I have elsewhere inquired into.
Some late writers, indeed, among the Protestants have endeavoured
to reduce the controversy about justification with the Papists unto an
appearance of a far less real difference than is usually judged to be
in it. And a good work it is, no doubt, to pare off all unnecessary
occasions of debate and differences in religion, provided we go not so
near the quick as to let out any of its vital spirits. The way taken
herein is, to proceed upon some concessions of the most sober among
the Papists, in their ascriptions unto grace and the merit of Christ, on
the one side; and the express judgment of the Protestants, variously
delivered, of the necessity of good works to them that are justified, on
the other. Besides, it appears that in different expressions which either
partj;- adhere unto, as it were by tradition, the same things are in-
deed intended. Among them who have laboured in this kind, Lu-
dovicus le Blanc,^ for his perspicuity and plainness, his moderation
and freedom from a contentious frame of spirit, is " pene solus legi
dignus." He is like the ghost of Tiresias^ in this matter. But I
' A theologian who published, in 1663, a work entitled, " Disputationes qii£B-
dam Historifeque Theologicse;" and in 1683 his "Theses Theologies in Acad.
Sedanensi," were also published.— Ed.
- A blind seer, who lived at the time of the "War of the Seven against Thebos,
and a prominent character in the n)ytliical liteiature of Greece. In the lower
regions, his shade retained the faculty of perception, denied to the souls of other
mortals. — Ed.
6iS ON JUSTIFICATION.
must needs say, that I have not seen the effect that might be desired
of any such undertaking. For, when each party comes unto the in-
terpretation of their own concessions, which is, " ex communi jure/'
to be allowed unto them, and which they will be sure to do in com-
pliance with their judgment on the substance of the doctrine wherein
the main stress of the difference lies, the distance and breach continue
as wide as ever they were. Nor is there the least ground towards
peace obtained by any of our condescensions or compliances herein.
For unless we can come up entirely unto the decrees and canons of
the Council of Trent, wherein the doctrine of the Old and New Tes-
tament is anathematized, they will make no other use of any man's
compliances, but only to increase the clamour of differences among
ourselves. I mention nothing of this nature to hinder any man from
granting whatever he can or please unto them, without the prejudice
of the substance of truths professed in the protestant churches; but
only to intimate the uselessness of such concessions, in order unto
peace and agreement with them, whilst they have a Procrustes' bed
to lay us upon, and from whose size they will not recede.
Here and there one (not above three or four in all may be named,
within this hundred and thirty years) in the Roman communion has
owned our doctrine of justification, for the substance of it. So did
Albertus Pighius, and the Antitagma Coloniense, as Bellarmine ac-
knowledges. And what he says of Pighius is true, as we shall see
afterward; the other I have not seen. Cardinal Contarinus, in a
treatise of justification, written before, and published about the be-
ginning of the Trent Council, delivereth himself in the favour of it.
But upon the observation of what he had done, some say he was
shortly after poisoned ; though I must confess I know not where they
had the report.
But do what we can for the sake of peace, as too much cannot be
done for it, with the safety of truth, it cannot be denied but that the
doctrine of justification, as it works effectually in the church of Rome,
is the foundation of many enormities among them, both in judgment
and practice. They do not continue, I acknowledge, in that visible
predominancy and rage as formerly, nor are the generality of the
people in so much slavish bondage unto them as they were; but
the streams of them do still issue from this corrupt fountain, unto the
dangerous infection of the souls of men. For missatical expiatory
sacrifices for the living and the dead, the necessity of auricular
confession, with authoritative absolution, penances, pilgrimages,
sacramentals, indulgences, commutations, works satisfactory and su-
pererogatory, the merit and intercession of saints departed, with
especial devotions and applications to this or that particular saint or
angel, purgatory, yea, on the matter, the whole of monastic devotion,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 69
do depend tliereon. They are all nothing but ways invented to pacify
the consciences of men, or divert them from attending to the charge
which is given in against them by the law of God ; sorry supphes they
are of a righteousness of their own, for them who know not how to
submit themselves to the righteousness of God. And if the doctrine
of free justification by the blood of Christ were once again exploded,
or corrupted and made unintelligible, unto these things, as absurd
and foolish as now unto some they seem to be, or what is not one jot
better, men must and will again betake themselves. For if once they
are diverted from putting their trust in the righteousness of Christ,
and grace of God alone, and do practically thereon follow after, take
up with, or rest in, that which is their own, the first impressions of
a sense of sin which shall befall their consciences will drive them
from their present hold, to seek for shelter in any thing that tenders
unto them the least appearance of relief. Men may talk and dispute
what they please, whilst they are at peace in their own minds, without
a real sense either of sin or righteousness, yea, and scoff at them who
are not under the power of the same security ; but when they shall
be awakened with other apprehensions of tilings than yet they are
aware of, they will be put on new resolutions. And it is in vain to
dispute with any about justification, who have not been duly con-
vinced of a state of sin, and of its guilt ; for such men neither under-
stand what they say, nor that whereof they dogmatize.
We have, therefore, the same reasons that the first reformers had,
to be careful about the preservation of this doctrine of the gospel
-^wxe and entire ; though we may not expect the like success with
them in our endeavours unto that end. For the minds of the gene-
rality of men are in another liosture than they were when they dealt
with them. Under the power of ignorance and superstition they were ;
but yet multitudes of them were affected with a sense of the guilt of
sin. With us, for the most part, things are quite otherwise. Notional
light, accompanied with a senselessness of sin, leads men unto a con-
tempt of this doctrine, indeed of the whole mystery of the gospel.
We have had experience of the fruits of the faith which we now plead
for in this nation, for many years, yea, now for some ages; and it
cannot well be denied, but that those who have been most severely
tenacious of the doctrine of justification by the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ, have been the most exemplary in a holy life :
I speak oi former days. And if this doctrine be yet farther corrupted,
debased, or unlearned among us, we shall quickly fall into one of the
extremes wherewith we are at present m'ged on either side. For al-
though the reliefs provided in the church of Rome, for the satisfaction
of the consciences of men, are at present by the most disliked, yea, de-
spised, yet, if they are once brought to a loss how to place their whole
70 ON JUSTIFICATION.
trust and confidence in the righteousness of Christ, and grace of God
in him, they will not always live at such an uncertainty of mind as the
best of their own personal obedience will hang them on the briers of;
but betake themselves unto somewhat that tenders them certain
peace and security, though at present it may seem foolish unto them.
And I doubt not but that some, out of a mei^e ignorance of the right-
eousness of God, which either they have not been taught, or have had
no mind to learn, have, with some integrity in the exercise of their
consciences, betaken themselves unto that pretended rest which the
church of Rome offers unto them. For being troubled about their
sins, they think it better to betake themselves unto that great variety
of means for the ease and discharge of their consciences which the
Roman church affords, than to abide where they are, without the
least pretence of relief; as men will find in due time, there is no such
thing to be found or obtained in themselves. They may go on for a
time with good satisfaction unto their own minds; but if once they
are brought unto a loss through the conviction of sin, they must look
beyond themselves for peace and satisfaction, or sit down without
them to eternity. Nor are the principles and ways which others take
up withal in another extreme, upon the rejection of this doctrine,
although more plausible, yet at all more really useful unto the souls
of men than those of the Roman church which they reject as obsolete,
and un suited unto the genius of the present age. For they all of
them arise from, or lead unto, the want of a due sense of the nature
and guilt of sin, as also of the holiness and righteousness of God with
respect thereunto. And when such principles as these do once grow
prevalent in the minds of men, they quickly grow careless, negligent,
secure in sinning, and end for the most part in atheism, or a great
indifferency as unto all religion, and all the duties thereof.
CHAPTER I.
Justifying faith ; the causes and oliject of it declared.
The means of justification on our part is faith. That we are
justified by faith, is so frequently and so expressly affirmed in the
Scripture, as that it cannot directly and in terms by any be denied.
For whereas some begin, by an excess of partiality, which contro-
versial engagements and provocations do incline them unto, to affirm
that our justification is more frequently ascribed unto other things,
graces or duties, than unto faith, it is to be passed by in silence, an<i
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 71
not contended about. But yet, also, the explanation which some
others make of this general concession, that " we are justified by faith,"
doth as fully overthrow what is affirmed therein as if it were in terms
rejected; and it would more advantage the understandings of men if
it were plainly refused upon its first proposal, than to be led about in
a maze of words and distinctions vmto its real exclusion, as is done
both by the Eomanists and Socinians. At present we may take the
proposition as granted, and only inquire into the true, genuine sense
and meaning of it. That which first occurs unto our consideration is
faith; and that which doth concern it may be reduced unto two
heads: — 1. Its nature. 2. Its ^(se in our justification.
Of the nature of faith in general, of the especial nature of justi-
f}dng faith, of its characteristical distinctions from that which is
called faith but is not justifying, so many discourses (divers of them
the effects of sound judgment and good experience) are already ex-
tant, as it is altogether needless to engage at large into a farther dis-
cussion of them. However, something must be spoken to declare in
what sense we understand these things; — what is that faith which
we ascribe our justification unto, and what is its use therein.
The distinctions that are usually made concerning faith (as it is a
word of various significations), I shall wholly pretermit ; not only as
obvious and known, but as not belonging unto our present argument.
That which we are concerned in is, that in the Scripture there is
mention m^de plainly of a twofold faith, whereby men believe the
gospel. For there is a faith whereby we are justified, which he who
hath shall be assuredly saved ; which purifieth the heart and worketh
by love. And there is a faith or believing, which doth nothing of
all this ; which who hath, and hath no more, is not justified, nor can
be saved. Wherefore, every faith, whereby men are said to believe,
is not justifying. Thus it is said of Simon the magician, that he
" beheved," Acts viii. 13, when he was in the "gall of bitterness
and bond of iniquity ;" and therefore did not believe with that faith
which " purifieth the heart," Acts xv. 9. And that many " believed
on the name of Jesus, when they saw the miracles that he did ; but
Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew what Avas
in man," John ii. 23, 24. They did not believe on his name as those
do, or with that kind of faith, who thereon " receive j)ower to become
the sons of God," John i. 12. And some, when they " hear the word
receive it A\dth joy, believing for a while," but " have no root," Luke
viii. 13. And faith, without a root in the heart, will not justify any;
for "with the heart men believe unto righteousness," Rom. x. 10.
So is it with them who shall cry, " Lord, Lord" (at the last day), "we
have prophesied in thy name," whilst yet they were always " workers
of iniquity," Matt. vii. 22, 23.
72 ON JUSTIFICATION.
This faith is usually called historical faith. But this denomina-
tion is not taken from the object of it, as though it were only the
history of the Scripture, or the historical things contained in it. For
it respects the whole truth of the word, yea, of the promises of the
gospel as well as other things. But it is so called from the nature
of the assent wherein it doth consist ; for it is such as we give unto
historical things that are credibly testified unto us.
And this faith hath divers differences or degrees, both in respect
unto the grounds or reasons of it, and also its effects. For as unto
the first, all faith is an assent upon testimony; and divine faith is
an assent upon a divine testimony. According as this testimony is
received, so are the differences or degrees of this faith. Some ap-
prehend it on human motives only, and its credibility unto the
judgment of reason ; and their assent is a mere natural act of their
understanding, which is the lowest degree of this historical faith.
Some have their minds enabled unto it by spiiitual illumination,
making a discovery of the evidences of divine truth whereon it is to
be believed ; the assent they give hereon is more firm and operative
than that of the former sort.
Again; it hath its differences or degrees with respect unto its
effects. With some it doth no way, or very little, influence the will
or the affections, or work any change in the lives of men. So is it
with them that profess they believe the gospel, and yet live in all
manner of sins. In this degree, it is called by the apostle James
" a dead faith," and compared unto a dead carcase, without life or
motion ; and is an assent of the very same nature and kind with that
which devils are compelled to give; and this faith abounds in the
world. With others it hath an effectual work upon the affections,
and that in many degrees, also, represented in the several sorts of
ground whereinto the seed of the word is cast, and produceth many
effects in their lives. In the utmost improvement of it, both as to
the evidence it proceeds from and the effects it produceth, it is
usually called temporary faith ; — for it is neither permanent against
all oppositions, nor will bring any unto eternal rest. The name is
taken from that expression of our Saviour concerning him who be-
lieveth with this faith, — Upd(S-/.aip6g. Icn, Matt. xiii. 21.
This faith I grant to be true in its kind, and not merely to be
equivocally so called : it is not 'xierig ■vj/suSwi'u/xos. It is so as unto the
general nature of faith ; but of the same special nature with justify-
ing faith it is not. Justifying faith is not a higher, or the highest
degree of this faith, but is of another' kind or nature. Wherefore,
sundry things may be observed concerning this faith, in the utmost
improvement of it unto our present purpose. As, —
1. This faith, with all the effects of it, men may have and not be
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 73
justified ; and, if they have not a faith of another kind, they cannot
be justified. For justification is nowhere ascribed unto it, yea, it is
affirmed by the apostle James that none can be justified by it.
2. It may produce great effects in the minds, affections, and lives
of men, although not one of them that are peculiar unto justifying
faith. Yet such they may be, as that those in whom they are
wrought may be, and ought, in the judgment of charity, to be looked
on as true believers.
8. This is that faith which may be alone. We are justified by
faith alone; but we are not justified by that faith which can he
alone. Alone, respects its influence into our justification, not its
nature and existence. And we absolutely deny that we can be justi-
fied by that faith which can he alone; that is, without a principle
of spiritual life and universal obedience, operative in all the works
of it, as duty doth require.
These things I have observed, only to obviate that calumny and
reproach which some endeavour to fix on the doctrine of justification
by faith only, through the mediation of Christ. For those who assert
it, must be Solifidians, Antinomians, and I know not what; — such as
oppose or deny the necessity of universal obedience, or good works.
Most of them who manage it, cannot but know in their own consciences
that this charge is false. But this is the way of handling contro-
versies with many. They can aver any thing that seems to advantage
the cause they plead, to the great scandal of religion. If by Soli-
fidians, they mean those who believe that faith alone is on our part
the means, instrument, or condition (of which afterward) of our jus-
tification, all the prophets and apostles were so, and were so taught
to be by Jesus Christ; as shall be proved. If they mean those who
affirm that the faith whereby we are justified is alone, separate, or
separable, from a principle and the fruit of holy obedience, they
must find them out themselves, we know nothing of them. For we
allow no faith to be of the same kind or nature with that whereby
we are justified, but what virtually and radically contains in it uni-
versal obedience, as the effect is in the cause, the fruit in the root,
and which acts itself in all particular duties, according as by rule
and circumstances they are made so to be. Yea, we allow no faith
to be justifying, or to be of the same kind with it, which is not it-
self, and in its own nature, a spiritually vital principle of obedience
and good works. And if this be not sufficient to prevail with some
not to seek for advantages by such shameful calumnies, yet is it so
with others, to free their minds from any concernment in them.
[As] for the especial nature of justifying faith, which we inquire
into, the things whereby it is evidenced may be reduced unto these
four heads; — 1. The causes of it on the part of God. 2. What is in
74 ON JUSTinCATIOX.
us previously required unto it. 8. The proper object of it. 4. Its
proper peculiar acts and effects. Which shall be spoken unto so far
as is necessary unto our present design : —
1. The doctrine of the causes of faith, as unto its first original in
the divine will, and the way of its communication unto us, is so large,
and so immixed with that of the way and manner of the operation of
efficacious grace in conversion (which I have handled elsewhere), as
that I shall not here insist upon it. For as it cannot in a few words
be spoken unto, according unto its weight and worth, so to engage
into a full handling of it would too much divert us from our present
argument. This I shall only say, that from thence it may be un-
controllably evidenced, that the faith whereby we are justified is of
an especial kind or nature, wherein no other faith, which justification
is not inseparable from, doth partake with it.
2. Wherefore, our first inquiry is concerning what was proposed
in the second place, — namely. What is on our part, in a way of duty,
previously required thereunto ; or, what is necessary to be found in
us antecedaneously unto our believing unto the justification of life ?
And I say there is supposed in them in whom this faith is wrought,
on whom it is bestowed, and whose duty it is to believe therewith,
the work of the law in the conviction of sin; or, conviction of sin is
a necessary antecedent unto justifying faith. Many have disputed
what belongs hereunto, and what effects it produceth in the mind,
that dispose the soul unto the receiving of the promise of the gospel.
But whereas there are different apprehensions about these effects or
concomitants of conviction (in compunction, humiliation, self-judging,
with sorrow for sin committed, and the like), as also about the de-
grees of them, as ordinarily prerequired unto faith and conversion
unto God, I shall speak very briefly unto them, so far as they are
inseparable from the conviction asserted. And I shall first consider
this conviction itself, with what is essential thereunto, and then the
effects of it in conjunction with that temporary faith before spoken
of I shall do so, not as unto their nature, the knowledge whereof
I take for granted, but only as they have respect unto our justification.
(1.) As to the first, I say, the work oi conviction in general, whereby
the soul of man hath a practical understanding of the nature of sin,
its guilt, and the punishment due unto it; and is made sensible of
his own interest therein, both with respect unto sin original and
actual, with his own utter disability to deliver himself out of the state
and condition wherein on the account of these things he findeth him-
self to be, — is that which we affirm to be antecedaneously necessary
unto justifying faith; that is, in the adidt, and of whose justification
the word is the external means and instrument.
A convinced sinner is only " subjectum capax justificationis," — not
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 75
that every one that is convinced is or must necessarily be justified.
There is not any such disposition or preparation of the subject by
tliis conviction, its effects, and consequents, as that the form of justi-
fication, as the Papists speak, or justifying grace, must necessarily
ensue or be introduced thereon. Nor is there any such preparation
in it, as that, by virtue of any divine compact or promise, a person so
convmced shall be pardoned and justified. But as a man may believe
with any kind of faith that is not justifying, such as that before
mentioned, without this conviction ; so it is ordinarily previous, and
necessary so to be, unto that faith which is unto the justification of
life. The motive unto it is not that thereon a man shall be assuredly
justified; but that without it he cannot be so.
This, I say, is required in the person to be justified, in order of
nature antecedaneously unto that faith whereby we are justified;
which we shall prove with the ensuing arguments : — For, [1.] Without
the due consideration and supposition of it, the true nature of faith
can never be understood. For, as we have showed before, justifica-
tion is God's way of the deliverance of the convinced sinner, or one
whose mouth is stopped, and who is guilty before God, — obnoxious to
the law, and shut up under sin. A sense, therefore, of this estate,
and all that belongs unto it, is required unto behoving. Hence Le
Blanc, Avho hath searched with some diligence into these things, com-
mends the definition of faith given byMestrezat, — that it is "the flight
of a penitent sinner unto the mercy of God in Christ." And there
is, indeed, more sense and truth in it than in twenty others that seem
more accurate. But without a supposition of the conviction men-
tioned, there is no understanding of this definition of faith. For it
is that alone which puts the soul upon a flight unto the mercy of
God in Christ, to be saved from the wrath to come. Heb. vi. 18,
" Fled for refuge."
[2.] The order, relation, and use of the law and the gospel do
uncontrollably evince the necessity of this conviction previous unto
believing. For that which any man hath first to deal withal, with
respect unto his eternal condition, both naturally and by God's insti-
tution, is the law. This is first presented unto the soul with its terms
of righteousness and life, and with its curse in case of failure. With-
out this the gospel cannot be understood, nor the grace of it duly
valued. For it is the revelation of God's way for the relieving the
souls of men from the sentence and curse of the law, Kom. i. 1 7. That
was the nature, that was the use and end of the first promise, and of
the whole work of God's grace revealed in all the ensuing promises, or
in the whole gospel. Wherefore, the faith which Ave treat of being
evangelical, — that Avhich, in its especial nature and use, not the law but
the gospel requureth, that wliich hath the gospel for its principle,
76 ON JUSTIFICATION.
rule, and object, — it is not required of us, cannot be acted by us, but
on a supposition of the work and effect of the law in the conviction
of sin, by giving the knowledge of it, a sense of its guilt, and the
state of the sinner on the account thereof. And that faith which
hath not respect hereunto, we absolutely deny to be that faith whereby
we are justified. Gal. iii. 22-24; Rom. x. 4.
[3.] This our Saviour himself directly teacheth in the gospel. For
he calls unto him only those who are weary and heavily laden ; affirms
that the " whole have no need of the physician, but the sick;" and
that he " came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
In all which he intends not those who were really sinners, as all
men are, — for he makes a difference between them, offering the gospel
unto some and not unto others, — but such as were convinced of sin,
burdened with it, and sought after deliverance.
So those unto whom the apostle Peter proposed the promise of the
gospel, with the pardon of sin thereby as the object of gospel faith,
were " pricked to the heart " upon the conviction of their sin, and
cried, " What shall we do V Acts ii. 37-39. Such, also, was the
state of the jailer unto whom the apostle Paul proposed salvation by
Christ, as what he was to believe for his deliverance, Acts xvi. 30, 31.
[4.] The state of Adam, and God's dealing with him therein, is
the best representation of the order and method of these things. As
he was after the fall, so are we by nature, in the very same state and
condition. Really he was utterly lost by sin, and convinced he was
both of the nature of his sin and of the effects of it, in that act of
God by the law on his mind, which is called the " opening of his
eyes." For it was nothing but the communication unto his mind by
his conscience of a sense of the nature, guilt, effects, and consequents
of sin; which the law could then teach him, and could not do so
before. This fills him with shame and fear; against the former
whereof he provided by fig-leaves, and against the latter by hiding
himself among the trees of the garden. Nor, however they may
please themselves with them, are any of the contrivances of men, for
freedom and safety from sin, either wiser or more likely to have suc-
cess. In this condition God, by an immediate inquisition into the
matter of fact, sharpeneth this conviction by the addition of his own
testimony unto its truth, and casteth him actually under the curse of
the law, in a juridical denunciation of it. In this lost, forlorn, hope-
less condition, God proposeth the promise of redemption by Christ
unto him. And this was the object of that faith whereby he was to
be justified.
Although these things are not thus eminently and distinctly trans-
lated in the minds and consciences of all who are called unto believ-
ing by the gospel, yet for the substance of them, and as to the pre-
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 77
viousness of the conviction of sin unto faith, they are found in all
that sincerely believe.
These things are known, and, for the substance of them, generally
agreed unto. But yet are they such as, being duly considered, will
discover the vanity and mistakes of many definitions of faith that are
obtruded on us. For any definition or description of it which hath
not express, or at least virtual, respect hereunto, is but a deceit, and
no way answers the experience of them that truly believe. And such
are all those who place it merely in an assent unto divine revelation,
of what nature soever that assent be, and whatever effects are ascribed
unto it. For such an assent there may be, without any respect unto
this work of the law. Neither do I, to speak plainly, at all value the
most accurate disputations of any about the nature and act of justify-
ing faith, who never had in themselves an experience of the work of
the law in conviction and condemnation for sin, with the effects of it
upon their consciences; or [who] do omit the due consideration of
their own experience, wherein what they truly believe is better stated
than in all their disputations. That faith whereby we are justified is,
in general, the acting of the soul towards God, as revealing himself
in the gospel, for deliverance out of this state and condition, or from
under the curse of the law applied unto the conscience, according to
his mind, and by the ways that he hath appointed. I give not this
as any definition of faith, but only express what hath a necessary in-
fluence unto it, whence the nature of it may be discerned.
(2.) The effects of this conviction, with their respect unto our jus-
tification, real or pretended, may also be briefly considered. And
whereas this conviction is a mere work of the law, it is not, with re-
spect unto these effects, to be considered alone, but in conjunction
with, and under the conduct of, that temporary faith of the gospel
before described. And these two, tempoi'ary faith and legal convic-
tion, are the principles of all works or duties in religion antecedent
unto justification; and which, therefore, we must deny to have in
them any causality thereof. But it is granted that many acts and
duties, both internal and external, will ensue on real convictions.
Those that are internal may be reduced unto three heads: — [1.] Dis-
iMcency and sor^^oiu that we have sinned. It is impossible that any
one should be reaUy convinced of sin in the way before declared, but
that a dislike of sin, and of himself that he hath sinned, shame of it,
and sorrow for it, will ensue thereon. And it is a sufficient evidence
that he is not really convinced of sin, whatever he profess, or what-
ever confession he make, whose mind is not so affected, Jer. xxxvi. 24.
[2.] Fear of imnishnient due to sin. For conviction respects not
only the instructive and preceptive part of the law, whereby the being
and nature of sin are discovered, but the sentence and curse of it also,
78 ON JUSTIFICATION.
whereby it is judged and condemned, Gen. iv. 13, 14. Wherefore,
where fear of the punishment tlireatened doth not ensue, no person
is really convinced of sin ; nor hath the law had its proper work to-
wards him, as it is previous unto the administration of the gospel.
And whereas by faith we "fly from the wrath to come," where there
is not a sense and apprehension of that wrath as due unto us, there
is no ground or reason for our believing. [3.] A desire of deliver-
ance from that state wherein a convinced sinner finds himself upon
his conviction is unavoidable unto him. And it is naturally the first
thing that conviction works in the minds of men, and tliat in various
degrees of care, fear, sohcitude, and restlessness; which, from experi-
ence and the conduct of Scripture light, have been explained by
many, unto the gi-eat benefit of the church, and sufficiently derided
by others. Secondly, These mternal acts of the mind will also pro-
duce sundry external duties, which may be referred unto two heads :
— [1.] Abstinence from knoiun sin unto the utmost of men's power.
For they who begin to find that it is an evil thing and a bitter that
they have sinned against God, cannot but endeavour a future absti-
nence from it. And as this hath respect unto all the former internal
acts, as causes of it, so it is a peculiar exurgency of the last of them,
or a desire of deliverance from the state wherein such persons are.
For this they suppose to be the best expedient for it, or at least that
without which it will not be. And herein usually do their spirits act
by promises and vows, with renewed sorrow on surprisals into sin,
which A\dll befall them in that condition. [2.] The duties of re-
ligious worship, in prayer and hearing of the word, with diligence
in the use of the ordinances of the church, will ensue hereon. For
without these they know that no deliverance is to be obtained. Re-
formation of life and conversation in various degrees doth partly
consist in these things, and partly follow upon them. And these
things are always so, where the convictions of men are real and
abidinof.
Bnt yet it must be said, that they are neither severally nor jointly,
though in the highest degree, either necessary dispositions, prepara-
tions, previous congruities in a way of merit, nor conditions of our
justification. For, —
[1.] They are not co?^rf^i^o?^s of justification. For where one thing
is the condition of another, that other thing must follow the fulfilling
of that condition, otherwise the condition of it it is not; but they
may be all found where justification doth not ensue: v.'herefore,
there is no covenant, promise, or constitution of God, making them
to be such conditions of justification, though, in their o^vn nature,
they may be subservient unto what is required of us with respect
thereunto; but a certain infallible connection with it, by virtue of
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 79
any promise or covenant of God (as it is with faith), they have not.
And other condition, but what is constituted and made to be so by
divine compact or promise, is not to be allowed ; for otherwise, con-
ditions might be endlessly multiplied, and all things, natural as well
as moral, made to be so. So the meat we eat may be a condition of
justification. Faith and justification are inseparable; but so are not
justification and the things we now insist upon, as experience doth
evince. *
[2.] Justification may be, where the outiuard acts and duties men-
tioned, proceeding from convictions under the conduct of temporary
faith, are not. For Adam was justified without them; so also were
the converts in the Acts, chap, ii., — for what is reported concerning
them is all of it essentially included in conviction, verse 87 ; and so
likewise was it with the jailer, Acts xvi. 30, 81 ; and as unto many
of them, it is so with most that do believe. Therefore, they are not
conditions; for a condition suspends the event of that whereof it is
a condition. ,
[3.] They are not formal dispositions unto justification; because
it consisteth not in the introduction of any new form or inherent
quality in the soul, as hath been in part already declared, and shall
yet afterward be more fully evinced. Nor, — [4.] Are they ono^^al pre-
parations for it ; for being antecedent unto faith evangelical, no man
can have any design in them, but only to " seek for righteousness by
the works of the law," which is no preparation unto justification. All
discoveries of the righteousness of God, with the soul's adherence
unto it, belong to faith alone. There is, indeed, a repentance which
accompanieth faith, and is included in the nature of it, at least
radically. This is required unto our justification. But that legal
repentance which precedes gospel faith, and is without it, is neither
a disposition, preparation, nor condition of our justification.
In brief, the order of these things may be observed in the dealing
of God with Adam, as was before intimated. And there are three
degrees in it: — [1.] The opening of the eyes of the sinner, to see the
filth and guilt of sin in the sentence and curse of the law applied
unto his conscience, Rom. vii. 9, 10. This effects in the mind of the
sinner the things before mentioned, and puts him upon all the duties
that spring from them. For persons on their first convictions, ordi-
narily judge no more but that their state being evil and dangerous,
it is their duty to better it ; and that they can or shall do so accord-
ingly, if they apply themselves thereunto. But all these things, as
to a protection or deliverance from the sentence of the law, are no
better than fig-leaves and hiding. [2.] Ordmarily, God by his provi-
dence, or in the dispensation of the word, gives life and power unto
this work of the law in a peculiar manner; in answer unto the charge
80 ON JUSTIFICATION.
which he gave unto Adam after his attempt to hide himself. Hereby
the " mouth of the sinner is stopped," and he becomes, as thoroughly-
sensible of his guilt before God, so satisfied that there is no relief or
deliverance to be expected from any of those ways of sorrow or duty
that he hath put himself upon. [3.] In this condition it is a mere
act of sovereign grace, without any respect unto these things fore-
going, to call the sinner unto believing, or faith in the promise unto
the justification of life. This is God's order; yet so as thkt what
precedeth his call unto faith hath no causality thereof
3. The next thing to be inquired into is the proper object of jus-
tifying faith, or of true faith, in its ofiice, w^ork, and duty, with
respect unto our justification. And herein we must first consider
what we cannot so well close withal. For besides other differences
that seem to be about it (which, indeed, are but different explanations
of the same thing for the substance), there are two opinions which are
looked on as extremes, the one in an excess, and the other in defect.
The first is that of the Roman church, and those who comply with
them therein. And this is, that the object of justifying faith, as such,
is all divine verity, all divine revelation, whether written in the
Scripture or delivered by tradition, represented unto us by the au-
thority of the church. In the latter part of this description we are
not at present concerned. That the whole Scripture, and all the
parts of it, and all the truths, of what sort soever they be, that are
contained in it, are equally the object of faith in the discharge of its
office in our justification, is that which they maintain. Hence, as to
the nature of it, they cannot allow it to consist in any thing but an
assent of the mind. For, supposing the whole Scripture, and all con-
tained in it, — laws, precepts, promises, threatenings, stories, prophecies,
and the like, — to be the object of it, and these not as containing
in them things good or evil unto us, but under this formal considera-
tion as divinely revealed, they cannot assign or allow any other act
of the mind to be required hereunto, but assent only. And so con-
fident are they herein, — namely, that faith is no more than an assent
unto divine revelation, — as that Bellarmine, in opposition unto Calvin,
who placed knowledge in the description of justifying faith, affirms
that it is better defined by ignorance than by knowledge.
This description of justifying faith and its object hath been so
discussed, and on such evident grounds of Scripture and reason re-
jected by Protestant writers of all sorts, as that it is needless to insist
much upon it again. Some things I shall observe in relation unto
it, whereby we may discover what is of truth in what they assert, and
wherein it falls short thereof Neither shall I respect only them of
the Roman church who require no more to faith or believing, but
only a bare assent of the mind unto divine revelations, but them also
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 81
who place it wholly in such a firm assent as produceth obedience unto
all divine commands. For as it doth both these, as both these are
included in it, so unto the es})ecial nature of it more is reqviired. It
is, as justifying, neither a mere assent, nor any such firm degree of it
as should produce such effects.
(1.) All faith whatever is an act of that power of our souls, in
general, whereby we are able firmly to assent unto the truth upon
testimony, in things not evident unto us by sense or reason. It is
" the evidence of things not seen." And all divine faith is in general
an assent unto the truth that is proposed unto us upon divine testi-
mony. And hereby, as it is commonly agreed, it is distinguished
from opinion and moral certainty on the one hand, and science or
demonstration on the other.
(2.) Wherefore, in justifying faith there is an assent unto all divine
revelation upon the testimony of God, the revealer. By no other act
of our mind, wherein this is not included or supposed, can we be
justified; not because it is not justifying, but because it is not faith.
This assent, I say, is included in justifying faith. And therefore, we
find it often spoken of in the Scripture (the instances whereof are
gathered up by Bellarmine and others) with respect unto other
things, and not restrained unto the especial promise of grace in Christ ;
which is that wliich they oppose. But besides that in most places
of that kind the proper object of faith as justifymg is included and
referred ultimately unto, though diversely expressed by some of its
causes or concomitant adjuncts, it is granted that we believe all
divine truth with that very faith whereby we are justified, so as that
other things may well be ascribed unto it.
(3.) On these concessions we yet say two things: — [1.] That the
whole nature of justifying faith doth not consist merely in an assent
of the mind, be it never so firm and steadfast, nor whatever effects of
obedience it may produce. [2.] That in its duty and ofiice in justi-
fication, whence it hath that especial denomination which alone we
are in the explanation of, it doth not equally respect all divine reve-
lation as such, but hath a peculiar object proposed unto it in the
Scripture. And whereas both these will be immediately evinced in
our description of the proper object and nature of faith, I shall, at
present, oppose some few things unto this description of them, suffi-
cient to manifest how alien it is from the truth.
1st. This assent is an act of the understanding only, — an act of
the mind with respect unto truth evidenced unto it, be it of what
nature it will. So we believe the worst of things and the most
gTievous unto us, as well as the best and the most useful. But be-
lieving is an act of the heart; which, in the Scripture, compriseth all
the ffxculties of the soul as one enthe principle of moral and spiiitual
VOL. V. G
82 ON JUSTIFICATION.
duties : " With the heart man believeth unto righteousness," K-om.
X. 10. And it is frequently described by an act of the will, though
it be not so alone. But without an act of the will, no man can be-
lieve as he ought. See John v. 40, i. 12, vi. 85. We come to Christ
in an act of the will; and "let whosoever will, come." And to be
willing is taken for to believe, Ps. ex. 3 ; and unbelief is disobedience,
Heb. iii. 18, 19.
Idly. All divine truth is equally tlie object of this assent. It re-
spects not the especial nature or use of any one truth, be it of what
kind it will, more than another; nor can it do so, since it regards
only divine revelation. Hence that Judas was the traitor, must have
as great an influence into our justification as that Christ died for our
sins. But how contrary this is unto the Scripture, the analogy of
faith, and the experience of all that believe, needs neither declaration
nor confirmation.
odly. This assent unto all divine revelation may be true and sin-
cere, where there hath been no jJ^evious work of the law, nor any
conviction of sin. No such thing is required thereunto, nor are they
found in many who yet do so assent unto the truth. But, as we
have showed, this is necessary unto evangelical, justifying faith ; and
to suppose the contrary, is to overthrow the order and use of the law
and gospel, with their mutual relation unto one another, in subser-
viency unto the design of God in the salvation of sinners.
4ithly. It is not a way of seeking relief unto a convinced sinner,
whose mouth is stopped, in that he is become guilty before God.
Such alone are capable subjects of justification, and do or can seek
after it in a due manner. A mere assent unto divine revelation is
not peculiarly suited to give such persons relief : for it is that which
brings them into that condition from whence they are to be relieved;
for the knowledge of sin is by the law. But faith is a peculiar act-
ing of the soul for deliverance.
btldy. It is no more than what the devils tJtemselves may have,
and have, as the apostle James affirms. For that instance of their
believing one God, proves that they believe also whatever this one
God, who is the first essential ti-uth, doth reveal to be true. And it
may consist with all manner of wickedness, and without any obedi-
ence; and so make God a liar, 1 John v. 10. And it is no wonder if
men deny us to be justified by faith, who know no other faith but
this.
Gthly. It no way answers the descriptions that are given of justi-
fying faitli in the Scripture. Particularly, it is by faith as it is justi-
fying that we are said to "receive" Christ, John i. 12; Col. ii. 6; —
to " receive" the promise, the word, the grace of God, the atonement,
James i. 21 ; John iii. 33 ; Acts ii. 41, xi. 1 ; Kom. v. 11 ; Heb. xi. 1 7;
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 83
—to " cleave unto God," Deut. iv. 4; Acts xi. 23. And so, in tlie Old
Testament it is generally expressed by trust and hope. Now, none
of these things are contained in a mere assent unto the truth ; but
they require other actings of the soul than what are peculiar imto
the understanding only.
Stilly. It answers not the experience of them that truly believe.
This all our inquiries and arguments in this matter must have respect
unto. For the sum of what Vv^e aim at is, only to discover what they
do who really believe unto the justification of life. It is not what
notions men may have hereof, nor how they express their concep-
tions, how defensible they are against objections by accuracy of ex-
pressions and subtile distinctions; but only what we ourselves do, if
we truly believe, that we inquire after. And although our differences
about it do argue the great imperfection of that state wherein we
are, so as that those who truly believe cannot agree what they do in
their so doing, — which should give us a mutual tenderness and for-
l^earance towards each other ; — yet if men would attend unto their
own experience in the application of their souls unto God for the
pardon of sin and righteousness to life, more than unto the notions
which, on various occasions, their minds are influenced by, or prepos-
sessed withal, many differences and unnecessary disputations about
the nature of justifying faith would be prevented or prescinded. I
-deny, therefore, that this general assent unto the truth, how firm soever
it be, or what effects in the way of duty or obedience soever it may
produce, doth answer the experience of any one true believer, as con-
taining the entire actings of liis soul towards God for pardon of sin
and justification.
dithly. That faith alone is justifying which hath justification actually
accompanying of it. For thence alone it hath that denomination.
To suppose a man to have justifying faith, and not to be justified, is
to suppose a contradiction. Nor do we inquire after the nature of
any other faith but that whereby a believer is actually justified.
But it is not so with all them in whom this assent is found ; nor will
those that plead for it allow that upon it alone any are immediately
justified. Wherefore it is sufficiently evident that there is some-
what more required unto justifying faith than a real assent unto all
divine revelations, although we do give that assent by the faith
Avhereby we are justified.
But, on the other side, it is supposed that, by some, the object of
justifying faith is so much restrained, and the nature of it thereby
determined imto such a peculiar acting of the mind, as compriseth
not the whole of wliat is in the Scripture ascribed unto it. So some
have said that it is the pardon of our sins, in particular, that is the
object of justifying faith; — faith, therefore, they make to be a full
81 ON JUSTIFICATIOX.
persuasion of the forgiveness of our sins tlirough the mediation of
Christ ; or, that what Christ did and suffered as our mediator, he did
it for us in particular : and a particular application of especial mercy
unto our own souls and consciences is hereby made the essence of
faith ; or, to believe that our own sins are forgiven seems hereby to
be the first and most proper act of justifying faith. Hence it would
follow, that whosoever doth not believe, or hath not a firm per-
suasion of the forgiveness of his own sins in particular, hath no saving
faith, — is no true believer; which is by no means to be admitted.
And if any have been or are of this opinion, I fear that they were,
in the asserting of it, neglective of their own experience; or, it may
be, rather, that they knew not how, in their experience, all the other
actings of faith, wherein its essence doth consist, were included in
this persuasion, which in an especial manner they aimed at : whereof
we shall speak afterward. And there is no doubt unto me, but that
this which they propose, faith is suited unto, aimeth at, and doth
ordinarily effect in true believers, who improve it, and grow in its
exercise in a due manner.
Many great divines, at the first Reformation, did (as the Lutherans
generally yet do) thus make the mercy of God in Christ, and thereby
the forgiveness of our own sins, to be the proper object of justifying
faith, as svich; — whose essence, therefore, they placed in a fiducial
trust in the grace of God by Christ declared in the promises, with a
certain unwavering application of them unto ourselves. And I say,
with some confidence, that those who endeavour not to attain here-
unto, either understand not the nature of believing, or are very ne-
glective, both of the grace of God and of their own peace.
That which inclined those great and holy persons so to express
themselves in this matter, and to place the essence of faith in the
liigliest acting of it (wherein yet they always included and supjDOsed
its other acts), was the state of the consciences of men with whom
they had to do. Their contest in this article with the Roman church,
was about the way and means whereby the consciences of convinced,
troubled sinners might come to rest and peace with God. For at
that time they were no otherwise instructed, but that these things
were to be obtained, not only by ivorhs of righteousness which men
did themselves, in obedience unto the commands of God, but also by
the strict observance of many inventions of what they called the
Church; with an ascription of a strange efficacy to the same ends
unto missatical sacrifices, sacramentals, absolutions, penances, pil-
grimages, and other the like superstitions. Hereby they observed
that the consciences of men were kept in perpetual disquietments,
perplexities, fears, and bondage, exclusive of that rest, assurance, and
peace with God through the blood of Christ, which the gospel pro-
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 85
claims and tenders; and when the leaders of the people in that
church had observed this, that indeed the ways and means which
they proposed and presented would never bring the souls of men to
rest, nor give them the least assurance of the pardon of sins, they
made it a part of their doctrine, that the belief of the pardon of our
own sins, and assurance of the love of God in Christ, were false and
pernicious. For what should they else do, when they knew well
enough that in their way, and by theu' propositions, they were not to be
attained ? Hence the principal controversy in this matter, which the
reformed divines had with those of the church of Rome, was this, —
Whether there he, according unto and hy the gospel, a state of rest
and assured peace with God to he attained in this life? And hav-
ing all advantages imaginable for the proof hereof, from the very
nature, use, and end of the gospel, — from the grace, love, and design
of God in Christ, — from the efficacy of his mediation in his oblation
and intercession, — they assigned these things to be the especial object
of justifying faith, and that faith itself to be a fiduciary trust in the
especial grace and mercy of God, through the blood of Christ, as
proposed in the promises of the gospel; — that is, they directed the
souls of men to seek for peace with God, the pardon of sin, and a
right unto the heavenly inheritance, by placing their sole trust and
confidence in the mercy of God by Christ alone. But yet, withal, I
never read any of them (I know not what others have done) who
affirmed that every true and sincere believer always had a, full assur-
ance of the especial love of God in Christ, or of the pardon of his
o\vn sins; — though they plead that this the Scripture requires of
them in a way of duty, and that this they ought to aim at the attain-
ment of
And these things I shall leave as I find them, unto the use of the
church. For I shall not contend with any about the way and man-
ner of expressing the truth, where the substance of it is retained.
That which in these things is aimed at, is the advancement and glory
of the gi'ace of God in Christ, with the conduct of the souls of men
unto rest and peace with him. Where this is attained or aimed at,
and that in the way of truth for the substance of it, variety of appre-
hensions and expressions concerning the same things may tend unto
the useful exercise of faith and the edification of the church. Where-
fore, neither opposing nor rejecting what hath been delivered by
others as their judgments herein, I shall propose my own thoughts
concerning it; not without some hopes that they may tend to com-
municate light in the knowledge of the thing itself inquired into, and
the reconciliation of some differences about it amongst learned and
holy men. I say, therefore, that the Lord Jesus Christ himself, as
the ordinance of God, in his tuork of mediation for the recovery
86 ON JUSTIFICATION.
and salvation of lost sinners, and as unto that end proposed in the
promise of the gospel, is the adequate, proper object of justifying
faith, or of saving faith in its work and duty with respect unto our
justification.
The reason why I thus state the object of justifying faith is, because
it completely answers all that is ascribed unto it in the Scripture,
and all that the nature of it doth require. What belongs unto it as
faith in general, is here supposed; and what is peculiar unto it as
justifying, is fully expressed. And a few things will serve for the
V explication of the thesis, Avhich shall afterward be confirmed.
(1.) The Lord Jesus Christ himself is asserted to be the proper
object of justifying faith. For so it is required in all those testi-
monies of Scripture where that faith is declared to be our believing
in him, on his name, our receiving of him, or looking unto him;
whereunto the promise of justification and eternal life is annexed:
v/hereof afterward. See John i 12, iii. 16, 36, vi. 29, 47, vii. 38,
xiv. 12; Acts x. 43, xiii. 38, 39, xvi. 31, xxvi. 18, etc.
(2.) He is not proposed as the object of our faith unto the justi-
fication of life absolutely, but as the oixlinance of God, even the
Father, unto that end: who therefore also is the immediate object of
faith as justifying; in what respects we shall declare immediately.
So justification is frequently ascribed unto faith as peculiarly acted
on him, John v. 24, " He that believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment ; but is passed from
death unto life." And herein is comprised that grace, love, and favour
of God, which is the principal moving cause of our justification, Rom.
iii. 23, 24. Add hereunto John vi. 29, and the object of faith is
complete: " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent." God the Father as sending, and the Son as sent, —
that is, Jesus Christ in the work of his mediation, as the ordinance
of God for the recovery and salvation of lost sinners, is the object of
our faith. See 1 Pet. i. 21.
(3.) That he may be the object of our faith, whose general nature
consisteth in assent, and which is the foundation of all its other acts,
he is proposed in the promises of the gospel; which I therefore place
as concurring unto its complete object. Yet do I not herein con-
sider the promises merely as peculiar divine revelations, in which
sense they belong unto the formal object of faith ; but as they con-
tain, propose, and exhibit Christ as the ordinance of God, and the
benefits of his mediation, unto them that do believe. There is an
especial assent unto the promises of the gospel, wherein some place
the nature and essence of justifying faith, or of faith in its work and
duty with respect unto our justification. And so they make the
promises of the gospel to be the proper object of it. And it cannot
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 87
be but tliat, in the actings of justifying Mtli, there is a peculiar assent
■unto them. Howbeit, this being only an act of the mind, neither
the whole nature nor the whole work of faith can consist therein.
Wherefore, so far as the promises concur to the complete object of
faith, they are considered materially also, — namely, as they contain,
propose, and exhibit Christ unto believers. And in that sense are
they frequently affirmed in the Scripture to be the object of our faith
unto the justification of life. Acts ii. 39, xxvi. 6; Rom iv. 16, 20,
XV. 8; Gal. iii. 16, 18; Heb. iv. 1, vi. 13, viii. 6, x. 36.
(4.) The end for Avhich the Lord Christ, in the work of his media-
tion, is the ordinance of God, and as such proposed in the promises
of the gospel, — namely, the recovery and salvation of lost sinners, — •
belongs unto the object of faith as justifying. Hence, the forgive-
ness of sin and eternal life are proposed in the Scripture as things
that are to be believed unto justification, or as the object of our
faith, Matt. ix. 2; Acts ii. 38, 39, v. 31, xxvi. 18; Rom. iii. 25,
iv. 7, 8; Col. ii. 13; Tit. i. 2, etc. And whereas the just is to live
by his faith, and every one is to believe for himself, or make an ap-
plication of the things believed unto his own behoof, some from hence
have affirmed the pardon of our own sins and our own salvation to
be the proper object of faith; and indeed it doth belong thereunto,
when, in the way and order of God and the gospel, we can attain
unto it, 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4; Gal. ii. 20; Eph. i. 6, 7.
Wherefore, asserting the Lord Jesus Christ, in the work of his
mediation, to be the object of faith unto justification, I include there-
in the grace of God, which is the cause ; the pardon of sin, which is
the effect ; and the promises of the gospel, which are the means, of
communicating Christ and the benefits of his mediation unto us.
And all these things are so united, so intermixed in their mutual
relations and respects, so concatenated in the purpose of God, and
the declaration made of his will in the gospel, as that the believing
of any one of them doth virtually include the belief of the rest. And
by whom any one of them is disbelieved, they frustrate and make
void all the rest, and so faith itself
The due consideration of these things solveth all the difficulties
that arise about the nature of faith, either from the Scripture or
from the experience of them that believe, with respect unto its ob-
ject. Many things in the Scripture are we said to believe with it
and by it, and that unto justification; but two things are hence
evident: — Fust, That no one of them can be asserted to be the
complete, adequate object of our faith. Secondly, That none of them
are so absolutely, but as they relate unto the Lord Christ, as the
ordinance of God for our justification and salvation.
And this answereth the experience of all that do truly believe.
88 ON JUSTIFICATION.
For these things being united and made inseparable in the constitu-
tion of God, all of them are virtually included in every one of them.
(1.) Some fix their faith and trust, principally on the grace, love, and
mercy of God; especially they did so under the Old Testament,
before the clear revelation of Christ and his mediation. So did the
jDsalmist, Ps. exxx. 8, 4, xxxiii. 18, 19; and the publican, Luke
xviii. ] 3. And these are, in places of the Scripture innumerable, pro-
posed as the causes of our justification. See Rom. iii. 24; Eph. ii.
4-8; Tit. iii. 5-7. But this they do not absolutely, but with respect
unto the " redemption that is in the blood of Christ,'' Dan. ix. 17.
Nor doth the Scripture anywhere propose them unto us but under
that consideration. See Rom. iii. 24, 25 ; Ej^h. i. 6-8. For this is
the cause, way, and means of the communication of that grace, love,
and mercy unto us. (2.) Some place and fix them jjrincipally on
the Lord Christ, his mediation, and the benefits thereof. This the
apostle Paul proposeth frequently unto us in his own example. See
Gal. ii. 20; Phil. iii. 8-10. But this they do not absolutely, but
with respect unto the grace and love of God, whence it is that they
are given and communicated unto us, Rom. viii. 32; John iii. 16;
Eph. i. 6-8. Nor are they otherwise anywhere proposed unto us in
the Scripture as the object of our faith unto justification. (3.) Some
in a peculiar manner fix their souls, in believing, on the promises.
And this is exemplified in the instance of Abraham, Gen. xv. 6;
Rom. iv. 20. And so are they proposed in the Scripture as the object
of our faith. Acts ii. 39; Rom. iv. 16; Heb. iv. 1, 2, vi. 12, 13. But
this they do not merely as they are divine revelations, but as they
contain and propose unto us the Lord Christ and the benefits of his
mediation, from the grace, love, and mercy of God. Hence the
apostle disputes at large, in his Epistle unto the Galatians, that if
justification be any way but by the promise, both the gi-ace of God
and the death of Christ are evacuated and made of none effect. And
the reason is, because the promise is nothing but the way and means
of the communication of thein unto us. (4.) Some fix their faith on
the things themselves which they aim at, — namely, the pardon of sin
and eternal life. And these also in the Scripture are proposed unto
us as the object of our faith, or that which we are to believe unto
justification, Ps. cxxx. 4; Acts xxvi. 18; Tit. i. 2, But this is to be
done in its proper order, especially as unto the application of them
unto our o^vn souls. For we are nowhere required to believe them,
or our own interest in them, but as they are eflfects of the grace and
love of God, through Christ and his mediation, proposed in the
promises of the gospel. Wherefore the belief of them is included
in the belief of these, and is in order of nature antecedent there-
unto. And the belief of the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life,
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITH. 89
■without the due exercise of faith in those causes of them, is but pre-
sumption.
I have, therefore, given the entire object of faith as justifying, or
in its work and duty with respect unto our justification, in comphance
with the testimonies of the Scripture, and the experience of them
that believe.
Allowing, therefore, their proper place unto the promises, and unto -n
the effect of all in the pardon of sins and eternal life, that which I
shall farther confirm is, that the Lord Christ, in the luork of his
mediation, as the ordinance of God for the recovery and salvation
of lost sinners, is the proper adequate object of justifying faitli.
And the true nature of evangelical faith consisteth in the respect of
the heart (which we shall immediately describe) unto the love, grace,
and wisdom of God ; with the mediation of Christ, in his obedience;
with the sacrifice, satisfaction, and atonement for sin which he made
by his blood. These things are impiously opposed by some as incon-
sistent; for the second head of the Socinian impiety is, that the
grace of God and satisfaction of Christ are opj^osite and inconsistent,
so as that if we allow of the one we must deny the other. But as
these things are so proposed in the Scripture, as that without granting
them both neither can be believed; so faith, which I'espects them as
subordinate, — namely, the mediation of Christ unto the grace of God,
that fixeth itself on the Lord Christ and that redemption which is in
his blood, — as the ordinance of God, the effect of his wisdom, grace,
and love, finds rest in both, and in nothing else.
For the proof of the assertion, I need not labour in it, it being not
only abundantly declared in the Scripture, but that which contains
in it a principal part of the design and substance of the gospel. I
shall, therefore, only refer unto some of the places wherein it is taught,
or the testimonies that are given unto it,
The whole is expressed in that place of the apostle wherein the
doctrine of justification is most eminently proposed unto us, Rom.
iii. 24, 25, " Being justified freely by his grace through the redemjD-
tion that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a pro-
pitiation tlu'ough faitli in his blood ; to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins." Whereuuto we may add, Eph. i. 6, 7, " He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved ; in whom we have redemption
through his blood, according to the riches of his grace." That whereby
we are justified, is the especial object of our faith unto justification.
But this is the Lord Christ in the work of his mediation: for we
are justified by the redemption that is in Jesus Christ; for in hhn
we have redemption through bis blood, even the forgiveness of sin.
Christ as a propitiation is the cause of our justification, and the
object of our faith, or we attain it by faith in his blood. But this is
90 ON JUSTIFICATION.
SO under this formal consideration, as he is the ordinance of God for
that end, — appointed, given, proposed, set forth from and by the
grace, wisdom, and love of God. God set him forth to be a propitia-
tion. He makes us accepted in the Beloved. We have redemption
in his blood, according to the riches of his grace, whereby he makes
us accepted in the Beloved. And herein he " abounds towards us in
all wisdom," Eph. i. 8. This, therefore, is that which the gospel pro-
poseth unto us, as the especial object of om- faith unto the justification
of life.
But we may also in the same manner confirm the several parts of
the assertion distinctly: —
(1.) The Lord Jesus Christ, as proposed in the promise of the
gospel, is the 2^ecidiar object of faith unto justification. There are
three sorts of testimonies whereby this is confirmed : —
[1.] Those wherein it is positively asserted, as Actsx. 43, " To him
give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever be-
lieveth in him shall receive remission of sins." Christ believed in
as the means and cause of the remission of sins, is that which all
the prophets give witness unto. Actsxvi. 31, " Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." It is the answer of the
apostle unto the jailer's inquiry, — " Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?" His duty in believing, and the object of it, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is what they return thereunto. Acts iv. 12, " Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved." Tliat which is pro-
posed unto us, as the only way and means of our justification and
salvation, and that in opposition unto all other ways, is the object of
faith unto our justification; but this is Christ alone, exclusively unto
all other things. This is testified unto by Moses and the prophets;
the design of the whole Scripture being to direct the faith of the
church unto the Lord Christ alone, for life and salvation, Lidce
xxiv. 25-27.
[2.] All those wherein justifying faith is affirmed to be our believ-
ing in him, or believing on his name ; which are multiplied. John
i. 12, " He gave power to them to become the sons of God, who be-
lieved on his name ;" chap. iii. ] 6, " That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life;" verse 36, " He that be-
lieveth on the Son hath everlasting life;" chap. vi. 29, " This is the
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent;" verse 47,
" He that believeth on me hath everlasting life;" chap. vii. 38, " He
that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
So chap. ix. 35-37, xi. 25; Acts xxvi. 18, "That they may receive
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified
by faith that is in me." 1 Pet, ii. 6, 7. In all which places, and
CAUSES AND OBJECT OF FAITIL 91
many others, we are not only directed to place and affix our faitli on
him, but the effect of justification is ascribed thereunto. So expressly,
Acts xiii. 38, 39 ; which is what we design to prove.
[3.] Those which give us such a description of the acts of faith as
make him the direct and proper object of it. Such are they wherein
it is called a " receiving" of him. John i. 12, " To as many as re-
ceived him." Col. ii. 6, " As yon have received Christ Jesus the Lord."
That which we receive by faith is the proper object of it ; and it is
represented by their looking unto the brazen serpent, when it was
lifted up, who were stung by fiery serpents, John iii. 14, 15, xii. 32.
Faith is that act of the soul whereby convinced sinners, ready other-
wise to perish, do look unto Christ as he was made a propitiation
for their sins; and who so do " shall not perish, but have everlasting
life." He is, therefore, the object of our faith.
(2.) He is so, as he is the ordinance of God unto this end; which
consideration is not to be separated from our faith in him : and this
also is confirmed by several sorts of testimonies : —
[1.] All those wherein the love and grace of God are proposed as
the only cause of giving Jesus Christ to be the way and means of
our recovery and salvation ; ^^■hence they become, or God in them, the
supreme efficient cause of our justification. John iii. 16, "God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So
Kom. V. 8; 1 John iv. 9, 10. " Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," Rom. iii. 24; Eph. i.
6-8. This the Lord Christ directs our faith unto continually, referring
all unto him that sent him, and whose will he came to do, Heb, x. 5.
[2.] All those wherein God is said to set forth and propose Christ,
and to make him be for us and unto us, what he is so, unto the jus-
tification of life. Rom. iii. 25, " Whom God hath proposed to be a
propitiation." 1 Cor. i. 30, "■ Who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 2 Cor. v. 21,
" He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him." Acts xiii. 38, 39, etc.
Wherefore, in the acting of faitli in Christ unto justification, we can
no otherwise consider him but as the ordinance of God to that end;
he brings nothing unto us, does nothing for us, but wliat God ap-
pointed, designed, and made him to do. And this must diligently
be considered, that by our regard by faith unto the blood, the sacri-
fice, the satisfaction of Christ, we take off nothing from the free grace,
favour, and love of God.
[3.] All those wherein the wisdom of God in the contrivance of
this way of justification and salvation is proposed unto us. Eph. i.
7, 8, " In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgive-
92 ON JUSTIFICATION.
ness of sins, according to the riches of his grace ; wherein he hath
abounded towards us in all wisdom and understanding." See chap,
iii. 10, 11; 1 Cor. i. 24.
The whole is comprised in that of the apostle : " God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them," 2 Cor. v. 19. All that is done in our reconciliation unto God,
as unto the pardon of our sins, and acceptance with him unto life,
was by the presence of God, in his grace, wisdom, and power, in Christ,
designing and effecting of it.
Wherefore, the Lord Christ, proposed in the promise of the gospel
as the object of our faith unto the justification of life, is considered
as the ordinance of God unto that end. Hence the love, the grace,
and the wisdom of God, in the sending and giving of him, are com-
prised in that object; and not only the actings of God in Christ to-
wards us, but all his actings towards the person of Christ himself unto
the same end, belong thereunto. So, as unto his death, " God set
him forth to be a propitiation," Rom. iii. 25. " He spared him not,
but delivered him up for us all," Rom. viii. 32 ; and therein " laid
all our sins upon him," Isa. liii. 6. So he was '* raised for our justi-
fication," Rom. iv. 25. And our faith is in God, who " raised him
from the dead," Rom. x. 9. And in his exaltation, Acts v. 31. Which
things complete " the record that God hath given of his Son," 1 John
V. 10-12.
The whole is confirmed by the exercise of faith in prayer ; which is
the soul's application of itself unto God for the participation of the
benefits of the mediation of Christ. And it is called our "•' access
through him unto the Father," Eph. ii. IS; our coming through him
'•' unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need," Heb. iv. 15, 16; and through him as both
" a high priest and sacrifice," Heb. x. 19-22. So do we " bow our
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," Epk iii. 14. This
answereth the experience of all who know what it is to pray. We
come therein in the name of Christ, by him, through his mediation,
unto God, even the Father ; to be, through his grace, love, and mercy,
made partakers of what he hath designed and promised to communi-
cate unto poor sinners by him. And this represents the complete
object of our faith.
The due consideration of these things will reconcile and reduce unto
a perfect harmony whatever is spoken in the Scripture concerning
the object of justifying faith, or what we are said to believe therewith.
For whereas this is affirmed of sundry things distinctly, they can
none of them be supposed to be the entire adequate object of faith.
But consider them all in their relation unto Christ, and they have all
of them their proper place therein, — namely, the grace of God, which
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH, 93
is the cause; the pardon of sin, which is the effect; and the promises
of the gospel, which are the means, of communicating the Lord Christ,
and the benefits of his mediation unto us.
The reader may be pleased to take notice, that I do in this place
not only neglect, but despise, the late attempt of some to wrest all
things of this nature, spoken of the person and mediation of Christ,
unto the doctrine of the gospel, exclusively unto them ; and that not
only as what is noisome and impious in itself, but as that also which
hath not yet been endeavoured to be proved, with any appearance of
learning, argument, or sobriety.
CHAPTER 11.
The nature of justifying faith.
That which we shall now inquire into, is the nature^ of justifying
faith; or of faith in that act and exercise of it whereby we are jus-
tified, or whereon justification, according unto God's ordination and
promise, doth ensue. And the reader is desired to take along Avitli
him a supposition of those things which we have already ascribed
unto it, as it is sincere faith in general; as also, of what is required
previously thereunto, as unto its especial nature, work, and duty in
our justification. For we do deny that ordinarily, and according
unto the method of God's proceeding with us declared in the Scnp-
ture, wherein the rule of our duty is prescribed, any one doth, or
can, tridy believe Avith faith unto justification, in whom the work
of conviction, before described, hath not been wrought. All descrip-
tions or definitions of faith that have not a respect thereunto are but
vain speculations. And hence some do give us such definitions of
faith as it is hard to conceive that they ever asked of themselves
what they do in their believing on Jesus Christ for life and salvation.
The nature of justifying faith, with respect unto that exercise of it
whereby we are justified, consisteth in the heart's approbation of the
tvay of justification and salvation of sinners hi/ Jesus Christ jiro-
2)osed in the gospel, as proceeding from the grace, wisdom, and love
of God, tvith its acquiescency therein as unto its oivn concernment
and condition.
There needs no more for the explanation of this declaration of the
1 This chapter is obviously the fourth division on the suT)ject of faith, as the
author proposes to discuss it ou page 74. It is not so marked, liowever, in the
original edition ; and j)erluips tlie omission was designed to leave the chapter less
complicated with divisions. We content ourselves witlj simply calling uttentiou
to the circumstance, and do not venture to make any change. — Ed.
94 ON JUSTIFICATION.
nature of faith than what we have before proved concerning its ob-
ject; and what may seem wanting thereunto will be fully supplied
in the ensuing confirmation of it. The Lord Christ, and his media-
tion, as the ordinance of God for the recovery, life, and salvation of
sinners, is supposed as the object of this faith. And they are all
considered as an effect of the wisdom, grace, authority, and love of
God, with all their actings in and towards the Lord Christ himself,
in his susception and discharge of his office. Hereunto he constantly
refers all that he did and suffered, with all the benefits redounding
unto the church thereby. Hence, as we observed before, sometimes
the grace, or love, or especial mercy of God, sometimes his actings in
or toAvards the Lord Christ himself, in sending him, giving him up
unto death, and raising him from the dead, are proposed as the object
of our faith unto justification. But they are so, alwa5^s with respect
unto his obedience and the atonement that he made for sin. Neither
are they so altogether absolutely considered, but as proposed in the
promises of the gospel. Hence, a sincere assent unto the divine vera-
city in those promises is -included in this approbation.
What belongs unto the confirmation of this description of faith
shall be reduced unto these four heads: — 1. The declaration of its
contrary, or the nature oi privative unbelief mpon the proposal of the
gospel. For these things do mutually illustrate one another. 2. The
declaration of the design and end of God in and by the gospel.
3. The nature of faith's compliance with that design, or its actings
with respect thereunto. 4. The order, method, and way of believing,
as declared in the Scriptm-e: —
1. The gospel is the revelation or declaration of that way of justi-
fication and salvation for sinners by Jesus Christ, which God, in
infinite wisdom, love, and grace, hath prepared. And upon a suppo-
sition of the reception thereof, it is accompanied with precepts of
obedience and promises of rewards. " Therein is the righteousness of
God," — that which he requires, accepts, and approves unto salvation,
— "revealed from faith unto faith," Rom. i. 17. This is the record
of God therein, " That he hath given unto us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son," 1 John v. 11. So John iii. 14-1 7. " The words of this
life," Acts v. 20 ; " All the counsel of God," Acts xx. 27. Wherefore,
in the dispensation or preaching of the gospel, this way of salvation is
proposed unto sinners, as the great effect of divine wisdom and gTace.
Unbelief is the rejection, neglect, non-admission, or disapprobation of
it, on the terms whereon, and for the ends for which, it is so proposed.
The unbelief of the Pliarisees, upon the preparatory preaching of
John the Baptist, is called the " rejecting of the counsel of God
against themselves;" that is, unto their own ruin, Luke \ii. 80.
" They would none of my counsel," is an expression to the same pur-
pose, Prov. i. 30; so is the "neglecting this great salvation," Heb.
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 95
ii. 3, — not giving it that admission which the excellency of it doth
require. A disallowing of Christ, the stone h d'7rs6ozi/Masav o'l oJkooo-
fMov\>Tsg, 1 Pet. ii. 7, — the " builders disapproved of," as not meet for
that place and work whereunto it was designed. Acts iv. 11, — this is
unbelief; to disapprove of Christ, and the way of salvation by him, as
not answering divine wisdom, nor suited unto the end designed. So
is it described by the refusing or not receiving of him ; all to the same
purpose.
What is intended will be more evident if we consider the proposal
of the gospel where it issued in unbelief, in the first preaching of it,
and where it continueth still so to do.
Most of those who rejected the gospel by their unbelief, did it
under this notion, that the way of salvation and blessedness proposed
therein was not a way answering divine goodness and power, such as
they might safely confide in and trust unto. This the apostle de-
clares at large, 1 Cor. i.; so he expresseth it, verses 23, 24, "We
preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto
the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." That
which they declared unto them in the preaching of the gospel was,
that " Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures," chap.
XV. 3. Herein they proposed him as the ordinance of God, as the
great effect of his wisdom and power for the salvation of sinners. But
as unto those who continued in their unbelief, they rejected it as any
such way, esteeming it both weakness and folly. And therefore, he
describeth the faith of them that are called, by their approbation of
the wisdom and poiver of God herein. The want of a comprehension
of the glory of God in this way of salvation, rejecting it thereon, is
that unbelief which ruins the souls of men, 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
So is it with all that continue unbelievers under the proposal of
the o]:)ject of faith in the preaching of the gospel. They may give an
assent unto the truth of it, so far as it is a mere act of the mind, — at
least they find not themselves concerned to reject it ; yea, they
may assent unto it with that temporary faith which we described
before, and perform many duties of religion thereon : yet do they
manifest that they are not sincere believers, that they do not believe
with the heart unto righteousness, by many things that are irrecon-
cilable unto and inconsistent with justifying faith. The inquiry, there-
fore, is, Wherein the unbehef of such persons, on the account whereof
they perish, doth consist, and what is the formal nature of it? It is
not, as was said, in the want of an assent unto the truths of the doc-
trine of the gospel : for from such an assent are they said, in many
places of the Scripture, to believe, as hath been proved ; and this
assent may be so firm, and by various means so radicated in their
mind.s, as that, in testimony unto it, they may give their bodies to be
96 ON JUSTIFICATION.
burned ; as men also may do in the confirmation of a false persuasion.
Nor is it the want of an especial fiduciary application of the pro-
mises of the gospel unto themselves, and the belief of the pardon of
their own sins in particular : for this is not proposed unto them in
the first preaching of the gospel, as that which they are first to be-
lieve, and there may be a believing unto righteousness where this is
not attained, Isa. 1. 10. This will evidence faith not to be true; but
it is not formal unbelief. Nor is it the want of obedience unto the
precepts of the gospel in duties of holiness and righteousness ; for
these commands, as formally given in and by the gospel, belong only
unto them that truly believe, and are justified thereon. That, there-
fore, which is required unto evangelical faith, wherein the nature of
it doth consist, as it is the foundation of all future obedience, is the
heart's app)rohation of the way of life and salvation by Jesus Christ,
proposed unto it as the effect of the infinite wisdom, love, grace, and
goodness of God ; and as that which is suited unto all the wants and
whole design of guilty convinced sinners. This such persons have
not; and in the want thereof consists the formal nature of unbelief.
For without this no man is, or can be, influenced by the gospel unto
a relinquishment of sin, or encouraged unto obedience, whatever they
may do on other grounds and motives that are foreign unto the grace
of it. A.nd wherever this cordial, sincere apiDrobation of the way of
salvation by Jesus Christ, proposed in the gospel, doth prevail, it will
infallibly produce both repentance and obedience.
If the mind and heart of a convinced sinner (for of such alone Ave
treat) be able spiritually to discern the wisdom, love, and grace of
God, in this way of salvation, and be under the power of that per-
suasion, he hath the ground of repentance and obedience which is
given by the gospel. The receiving of Christ mentioned in the Scrip-
ture, and whereby the nature of feith in its exercise is expressed, I
refer unto the latter part of the description given concerning the soul's
acquiescency in God, by the way proposed.
Again : some there were at first, and such still continue to be, who
rejected not this way absolutely, and in the notion of it, but compa-
ratively, as reduced to practice; and so perished in their unbelief.
They judged the way of their own righteousness to be better, as that
which might be more safely trusted unto, — as more according unto the
mind of God and unto his glory. So did the Jews generally, the
frame of whose minds the apostle represents, Rom. x. o, 4. And
many of them assented unto the doctrine of the gospel in general as
true, howbeit they liked it not in their hearts as the best way of jus-
tification and salvation, but souglit for them by the works of the law.
Wherefore, unbelief, in its formal nature, consists in the want of a
spiritual discerning and approbation of the way of salvation by Jesus
Christ, as an effect of the infinite wisdom, goodness, and love of God ;
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 97
for where these are, the soul of a convmced- sinner cannot but em-
brace it, and adhere unto it. Hence, also, all acquiescency in this
way, and trust and confidence in committing the soul unto it, or unto
God in it, and by it (without which whatever is pretended of believing
is but a shadow of faith), is impossible unto such persons; for they
want the foundation whereon alone they can be built. And the con-
sideration hereof doth sufficiently manifest wherein the nature of true
evangelical faith doth consist.
2. The design of God in and by the gospel, with the work and
office of faith with respect thereunto, farther confirms the description
given of it. That which God designeth herein, in the first place, is
not the justification and salvation of sinners. His utmost complete
end, in all his counsels, is his own glory. He doth all things for himself;
nor can he who is infinite do otherwise. But in an especial manner
he expresseth this concerning this way of salvation by Jesus Christ.
Particularly, he designed herein the glory of his righteousness;
"To declare his righteousness," Rom. iii. 25;^of his love; "God so
loved the world," John iii. 16; "Herein v^e perceive the love of
God, that he laid down his life for us," 1 John iii. 16; — of his grace;
" Accepted, to the praise of the glory of his grace," Eph. i. 5, 6 ; — of
his tuisdom; "Christ crucified, the wisdom of God," 1 Cor. i. 24;
" Might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God," Eph,
iii. 10; — of his power; "it is the power of God unto salvation,"
Rom. i. 16; — of his faithfidness, Rom. iv. 16. For God designed
herein, not only the reparation of all that glory whose declaration
was impeached and obscured by the entrance of sin, but also a far-
ther exaltation and more eminent manifestation of it, as unto the
degrees of its exaltation, and some especial instances before concealed,
Eph. iii. 9. And all this is called " The glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ;" whereof faith is the beholding, 2 Cor, iv. 6.
3. This being the principal design of God in the way of justifica-
tion and salvation by Christ proposed in the gospel, that which on
our part is required unto a participation of the benefits of it, is the
ascription of that glory unto God which he designs so to exalt. The
acknowledgment of all these glorious properties of the divine nature,
as manifested in the provision and proposition of this way of life,
righteousness, and salvation, with an approbation of the way itself as
an effect of them, and that which is safely to be trusted unto, is that
which is required of us; and this is faith or believing: " Being strong
in faith, he gave glory to God," Rom. iv. 20. And this is in the
nature of the weakest degree of sincere faith. And no other grace,
work, or duty, is suited hereunto, or firstly and directly of that ten-
dency, but only consequentially and in the way of gratitude. And
although I cannot wholly assent unto him who affirms that faith in
VOL. V. 7
98 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the epistles of Paul is nothing but " existimatio magnifice sen ti ens
de Dei potentia, justitia, bonitate, et si quid promiserit in eo prses-
tando constantia," because it is too general, and not limited unto
the way of salvation by Christ, his " elect in whom he will be glori-
fied;" yet hath it much of the nature of faith in it. Wherefore I
say, that hence we may both learn the nature of faith, and whence
it is that faith alone is required unto our justification. The reason
of it is, because this is that grace or duty alone whereby we do or
can give unto God that glory which he designeth to manifest and
exalt in and by Jesus Christ. This only faith is suited unto, and
this it is to believe. Faith, in the sense we inquke after, is the
heart's approbation of, and consent unto, the way of life and salva-
tion of sinners by Jesus Christ, as that wherein the glory of the
righteousness, wisdom, grace, love, and mercy of God is exalted ; the
praise whereof it ascribes unto him, and resteth in it as unto the
ends of it, — namely, justification, life, and salvation. It is to give
" glory to God," Rom. iv. 20 ; to " behold his glory as in a glass," or
the gospel wherein it is represented unto us, 2 Cor. iii. 18; to have
in our hearts " the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6. The contrary whereunto makes
God a liar, and thereby despoileth him of the glory of all those holy
properties which he this way designed to manifest, 1 John v. 10.
And, if I mistake not, this is that which the experience of them
that truly believe, when they are out of the heats of disputation, will
give testimony unto.
4. To understand the nature of justifying faith aright, or the act
and exercise of saving faith in order unto our justification, which are
properly inquired after, we must consider the order of it; first the
things which are necessarily previous thereunto, and then what it is
to believe with respect unto them. As, —
(1.) The state of a convinced sinner, who is the only "subjectum
capax justificationis." This hath been spoken unto already, and the
necessity of its pi'ecedency unto the orderly proposal and receiving
of evangelical righteousness unto justification demonstrated. If we
lose a respect hereunto, we lose our best guide towards the discovery
of the nature of faith. Let no man think to understand the gospel,
who knoweth nothing of the law. God's constitution, and the nature
of the things themselves, have given the law the precedency with re-
spect unto sinners; " for by the law is the knowledge of sin." And
gospel faith is the soul's acting according to the mind of God, for
deliverance from that state and condition which it is cast under by
the law. And all those descriptions of faith which abound in the
writings of learned men, which do not at least include in them a
virtual respect unto this state and condition, or the work of the law
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 99
on the consciences of sinners, are all of them vain speculations.
There is nothing in this whole doctrine that I will more firmly ad-
here unto than the necessity of the convictions mentioned previous
unto true believing; without which not one line of it can be under-
stood aright, and men do but beat the air in their contentions about
it. See Rom. iii. 21-24.
(2.) We suppose herein a sincere assent unto all divine revelations,
whereof the promises of grace and mercy by Christ are an especial
part. This Paul supposed m Agrippa when he would have won him
over unto faith in Christ Jesus : " King Agrippa, believest thou the
prophets? I know that thou believest," Acts xxvi. 27. And this
assent which respects the j^romises of the gospel, not as they contain,
propose, and exhibit the Lord Christ and the benefits of his media-
tion unto us, but as divine revelations of infallible truth, is true and
sincere in its kind, as we described it before under the notion of tem-
porary faith ; but as it proceeds no farther, as it includes no act of
the will or heart, it is not that faith whereby we are justified. How-
ever, it is required thereunto, and is included therein.
(3.) The 2Woposal of the gospel, according unto the mind of God,
is hereunto supposed ; that is, that it be preached according unto God's
appointment: for not only the gospel itself, but the dispensation or
preaclung of it in the ministry of the church, is ordinarily required
unto believing. This the apostle asserts, and proves the necessity of
it at large, Rom. x. 11-17. Herein the Lord Christ and his media-
tion with God, the only way and means for the justification and sal-
vation of lost convinced sinners, as the product and effect of divine
wisdom, love, grace, and righteousness, is revealed, declared, proposed,
and offered unto such sinners: " For therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from £aith to faith," Rom. i. 17. The glory of God is
represented " as in a glass," 2 Cor. iii. 18; and " life and immor-
tality are brought to hght through the gospel," 2 Tim. i. 10; Heb.
ii. 3. Wherefore, —
(4.) The persons who are required to believe, and whose imme-
diate duty it is so to do, are such who really in their own consciences
are brought unto, and do make the inquiries mentioned in the Scrip-
ture,— " What shall we do? What shall we do to be saved? How
shall we fly from the ^^Tath to come? WhereAvithal shall we appear
before God? How shall we answer what is laid unto our charge?" —
or such as, being sensible of the guilt of sin, do seek for a righteous-
ness in the sight of God, Acts ii 37, 38, xvi. SO, 31 ; Micah vi. 6, 7;
Isa. XXXV. 4; Heb. vi. 18.
On these suppositions, the command and direction given unto men
being, "Beheve, and thou shalt be saved;" the inquiry is. What is that
act or icorh of faith whereby we may obtain a real interest or pro-
100 ON JUSTIFICATION.
priety in the promises of the gospel, and the things declared in them,
unto their justification before God?
And, — 1. It is evident, from what hath been discoursed, that it doth
not consist in, that it is not to be fully expressed by, any one single
habit or act of the mind or will distinctly whatever; for there are
such descriptions given of it in the Scripture, such things are pro-
posed as the object of it, and such is the experience of all that sin-
cerely believe, as no one single act, either of the mind or will, can
answer unto. Nor can an exact method of those acts of the soul
which are concurrent therein be prescribed; only what is essential
unto it is manifest.
2. That which, in order of nature, seems to have the precedency, is
the assent of the mind unto that which the psalmist betakes himself
unto in the first place for reUef, under a sense of sin and trouble,
Ps. cxxx. 3, 4, " If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand?" The sentence of the law and judgment of con-
science lie against him as unto any acceptation with God. There-
fore, he despairs in himself of standing in judgment, or being ac-
quitted before him. In this state, that which the soul first fixeth on,
as unto its relief, is, that " there is forgiveness with God." This, as
declared in the gospel, is, that God in his love and grace will pardon
and justify guilty sinners through the blood and mediation of Christ.
So it is proposed, Rom. iii. 23, 24. The assent of the mind hereunto,
as proposed in the promise of the gospel, is the root of faith, the
foundation of all that the soul doth in believing; nor is there any
evangelical faith without it. But yet, consider it abstractedly, as a
mere act of the mind, the essence and nature of justifying faith doth
not consist solely therein, though it cannot be without it. But, —
3. This is accompanied, in sincere believing, with an approbation
of the way of deliverance and salvation proposed, as an effect of
divine grace, wisdom, and love ; whereon the heart doth rest in it,
and apply itself unto it, according to the mind of God. This is that
faith whereby we are justified ; which I shall farther evince, by show-
ing what is included in it, and inseparable from it : —
(1.) It includeth in it a sincere renunciation of all other ways
and means for the attaining of righteousness, life, and salvation.
This is essential unto faith, Acts iv. 12; Hos. xiv. 2, 3; Jer. iii. 23;
Ps. Ixxi. 16, "I will make mention of thy righteousness, of thine
only." When a person is in the condition before described (and such
alone are called immediately to believe. Matt. ix. 1 3, xi. 28 ; 1 Tim.
i. 15), many things will present themselves unto him for his relief,
particularly his own righteousness. Bom. x. 3. A renunciation of
them all, as unto any hope or expectation of relief from them, be-
longs unto sincere believing, Isa. 1. 10, 11.
THE NATUEE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 101
(2.) There is in it the will's consent, whereby the soul betakes it-
self cordially and sincerely, as unto all its expectation of pardon of
sin and righteousness before God, unto the way of salvation proposed
in the gospel. This is that which is called " coming unto Christ,"
and " receiving of him," whereby true justifying faith is so often ex-
pressed in the Scripture ; or, as it is peculiarly called, " believing in
him," or " believing on his name." The whole is expressed, John
xiv. 6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(3.) An acquiescency of the heart in God, as the author and prin-
cipal cause of the way of salvation prepared, as acting in a way of
sovereign grace and mercy towards sinners : " Who by him do believe
in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that
your faith and hope might be in God," 1 Pet. i. 21. The heart of a
sinner doth herein give unto God the glory of all those holy proper-
ties of his nature which he designed to manifest in and by Jesus
Christ. See Isa. xlii. 1, xlix. 8. And this acquiescency of the heart
in God is that which is the immediate root of that waiting, patience,
long-suffering, and hope, which are the proper acts and effects of jus-
tifying faith, Heb. vi. 12, 15, 18, 19.
(4.) Ti'ust in God, or the grace and mercy of God in and through
the Lord Christ, as set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, doth belong hereunto, or necessarily ensue hereon ; for the per-
son called unto believing is, — first. Convinced of sin, and exposed
unto wrath ; secondly, Hath nothing else to trust unto for help and
relief; thirdly. Doth actually renounce all other things that tender
themselves unto that end : and therefore, without some act of trust,
the soul must lie under actual despair; which is utterly inconsistent
Avith faith, or the choice and approbation of the way of salvation be-
fore described.
(5.) The most frequent declaration of the nature of faith in the
Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, is by this trust; and that
because it is that act of it which composeth the soul, and brings it
unto all the rest it can attain. For all our rest in this world is from
trust in God; and the especial object of this trust, so far as it belongs
imto the nature of that faith whereby we are justified, is " God in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself" For this is respected
where his goodness, his mercy, his grace, his name, his faithfulness,
his power, are expressed, or any of them, as that which it doth im-
mediately rely upon ; for they are no way the object of our trust,
nor can be, but on the account of the covenant which is confirmed
and ratified in and by the blood of Christ alone.
Whether this trust or confidence shall be esteemed of the essence
of faith, or as that which, on the first fruit and working of it, we are
102 ON JUSTIFICATION.
found in the exercise of, we need not positively determine. I place
it, therefore, as that which belongs unto justifying faith, and is inse-
parable from it. For if all we have spoken before concerning faith
may be comprised under the notion of a firm assent and persuasion,
yet it cannot be so if any such assent be conceivable exclusive of this
trust.
This trust is that whereof many divines do make special mercy to
be the peculiar object; and that especial mercy to be such as to
include in it the pardon of our own sins. This by their adversaries is
fiercely opposed, and that on such grounds as manifest that they
do not believe that there is any such state attainable in this life;
and that if there were, it would not be of any use unto us, but
rather be a means of security and negligence in our duty: wherein
they betray how great is the ignorance of these things in their
own minds. But mercy may be said to be especial two ways: —
First, In itself, and in opposition unto common mercy. Secondly,
With respect unto him that believes. In the first sense, especial
mercy is the object of faith as justifying; for no more is intended
by it but the grace of God setting forth Christ to be a propitia-
tion through faith in his blood, Rom. iii. 23, 24. And faith in this
especial mercy is that which the apostle calls our " receiving of
the atonement," Rom. v. 11; — that is, our approbation of it, and
adherence unto it, as the great effect of divme wisdom, goodness,
faithfulness, love, and grace ; which will, therefore, never fail to them
who put their trust in it. In the latter sense, it is looked on as
the pardon of our own sins in particular, the especial mercy of
God unto our souls. That this is the object of justifying faith, that
a man is bound to believe this in order of nature antecedent unto his
justification, I do deny; neither yet do I know of any testimony or
sa,fe experience whereby it may be confirmed. But yet, for any to
deny that an undeceiving belief hereof is to be attained in this life,
or that it is our duty to believe the pardon of our own sins and the
especial love of God in Christ, in the order and method of our duty
and privileges, hmited and determined in the gospel, so as to come to
the full assurance of them (though I will not deny but that peace
with God, which is inseparable from justification, may be without
them) ; [is to] seem not to be much acquainted with the design of
God in the gospel, the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ, the nature
and work of faith, or their o"\\ti duty, nor the professed experience of
believers recorded in the Scripture. See Rom. v. 1-5; Heb. x. 2, 10,
19-22; Ps. xlvL 1, 2, cxxxviii. 7, 8, etc. Yet it is granted that all
these things are rather fruits or effects of faith, as under exercise and
improvement, than of the essence of it, as it is the instrument in our
justification.
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 103
And the trust before mentioned, which is either essential to justi-
fying faith, or inseparable from it, is excellently expressed by Bernard,
Dom. vi. post Pentec, Ser. 3, " Tria considero in quibus tota spes
mea consistit, charitatem adoptionis, veritatem promissionis, potesta-
tem redditionis. Murmuret jam quantum voluerit insipiens cogitatio
mea, dicens: Quis enim es tu, et quanta est ilia gloria, quibusve meritis
banc obtinere speras? Et ego fiducialiter respondebo : Scio cui credidi,
et certus sum, quia in charitate nimia adoptavit me, quia verax in pro-
missione, quia potens in exhi])itione : licet enim ei facere quod voluerit.
Hie est funiculus triplex qui difficile rumpitur, quern nobis a patria
nostra in hunc carcerem usque dimissum firmiter, obsecro, teneamus :
ut ipse nos sublevet, ipse nos trahat et pertrahat usque ad conspec-
tum glorise magui Dei : qui est benedictus in ssecula. Amen."
Concerning this faith and trust, it is earnestly pleaded by many
that obedience is included in it; but as to the way and manner
thereof, they variously express themselves. Socinus, and those who
follow him absolutely, do make obedience to be the essential forai of
faith ; which is denied by Episcopius. The Papists distinguish between
faith in-formed and faith, formed by charity : which comes to the same
purpose, for both are built on this supposition, — that there may be
true evangelical faith (that which is required as our duty, and con-
sequently is accepted of God, that may contain all in it which is
comprised in the name and duty of faith) that may be without charity
or obedience, and so be useless; for the Socinians do not make obe-
dience to be the essence of faith absolutely, but as it justifieth. And
so they plead unto this purpose, that " faith without works is dead."
But to suppose that a dead faith, or that faith which is dead, is that
faith which is required of us in the gospel in the way of duty, is a
monstrous imagination. Others plead for obedience, charity, the love
of God, to be included in the nature of faith ; but plead not directly
that this obedience is the form of faith, but that which belongs unto
the perfection of it, as it is justifying. Neither yet do they say that
by this obedience, a continued course of works and obedience, as
though that were necessary unto our first justification, is required ;
but only a sincere active purpose of obedience: and thereon, as the
manner of our days is, load them with reproaches who are otherwise
minded, if they knew who they were. For how impossible it is,
according unto then- principles who beheve justification by faith
alone, that justifying faith should be without a sincere purpose of
heart to obey God in all things, I shall briefly declare. For, First,
They beheve that faith is " not of ourselves, it is the gift of God;"
yea, that it is a grace -wrought in the hearts of men by the exceeding
gi-eatness of his power. And to suppose such a gi'ace dead, inactive,
unfruitful, not operative unto the great end of the glory of God, and
104 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the transfonmiisf of the souls of them that receive it into his imajje,
is a reflection on the wisdom, goodness, and love of God himself.
Secondly, That this grace is in them a principle of spiritual life,
which in the habit of it, as resident in the heart, is not really distin-
guished from that of all other grace whereby we live to God. So,
that there should be faith habitually in the heart, — I mean that
evangelical faith we inquire after, — or actually exercised, where there
is not a habit of all other graces, is utterly impossible. Neither is it
possible that there should be any exercise of this faith unto justifica-
tion, but where the mind is prepared, disposed, and determined unto
universal obedience. And therefore. Thirdly, It is denied that any
faith, trust, or confidence, which may be imagined, so as to be abso-
lutely separable from, and have its whole nature consistent with, the
absence of all other graces, is that faith which is the especial gift of
God, and which in the gospel is required of us in a way of duty. And
whereas some have said, that " men may believe, and place their firm
trust in Christ for life and salvation, and yet not be justified;" — it is
a position so destructive unto the gospel, and so full of scandal unto
all pious souls, and contains such an express denial of the record that
God hath given concerning his Son Jesus Christ, as I wonder that
any person of sobriety and learning should be sui-prised into it. And
whereas they plead the experience of multitudes who profess this
firm faith and confidence in Christ, and yet are not justified, — it is
true, indeed, but nothing unto their purpose ; for whatever they pro-
fess, not only not one of them does so in the sight and judgment of
God, where this matter is to be tried, but it is no difficult matter to
evict them of the folly and falseness of this profession, by the light
and rule of the gospel, even in their own consciences, if they would
attend unto instruction.
Wherefore we say, the faith whereby we are justified, is such as is
not found in any but those who are made partakers of the Holy
Ghost, and by him united unto Christ ; whose nature is renewed, and
in whom there is a principle of all grace, and purpose of obedience.
Only we say, it is not any other grace, as charity and the like, nor
any obedience, that gives life and form unto this faith ; but it is this
faith that gives life and efiicacy unto all other graces, and form unto
all evangelical obedience. Neither doth any thing hence accrue unto
our adversaries, who would have all those graces which are, in their
root and principle, at least, present in all that are to be justified, to
have the same influence unto our justification as faith hath: or that
we are said to be justified by faith alone ; and in explication of it, in
answer unto the reproaches of the Romanists, do say we are justified
by faith alone, but not by that faith which is alone; that we intend
by faith all other graces and obedience also. For besides that, the
THE NATURE OF JUSTIFYING FAITH. 105
nature of no other grace is capable of that office which is assigned
unto faith in our justification, nor can be assumed into a society in
operation with it, — namely, to receive Christ, and the promises of
life by him, and to give glory unto God on their account ; so when
they can give us any testimony of Scripture assigning our justification
unto any other grace, or all graces together, or all the fruits of them,
so as it is assigned unto faith, they shall be attended uato.
And this, in particular, is to be affirmed of rejje^itance ; concerning
which it is most vehemently urged, that it is of the same necessity
unto our justification as faith is. For this they say is easily proved,
from testimonies of Scripture innumerable, which call all men to
repentance that will be saved; especially those two eminent places are
insisted on. Acts ii. 38, 89, iii. 19. But that which they have to prove,
is not that it is of the same necessity/ with faith unto them that are
to be justified, but that it is of the same use with faith in their justi-
fication. Bcfptism in that place of the apostle. Acts ii. 38, 39, is
joined with faith no less than repentance ; and in other places it is
expressly put into the same condition. Hence, most of the ancients
concluded that it was no less necessary unto salvation than faith or
repentance itself Yet never did any of them assign it the same use
in justification with faith. But it is pleaded, whatever is a necessary
condition of the new covenant, is also a necessary condition of justi-
fication ; for otherwise a man might be justified, and continuing in
his justified estate, not be saved, for want of that necessary condition :
for by a necessary condition of the new covenant, they understand
that without which a man cannot be saved. But of this nature is
repentance as well as faith, and so is equally a condition of our justi-
fication. The ambiguity of the signification of the word condition
doth cast much disorder on the present inquiry, in the discourses of
some men. But to pass it by at present, I say, final ])erseverance is
a necessary condition of the new covenant; wherefore, by this rule, it
is also of justification. They say, some things are conditions abso-
lutely; such as are faith and rejJentance, and a jyuiyose of obedience:
some are so on some supposition only, — namely, that a man's life be
continued in this world; such is a course in obedience and good works,
and perseverance unto tlie end. Wherefore I say, then, that on sup-
position that a man lives in this world, i^erseverance imto the end is
a necessary condition of his justification. And if so, no man can be
justified whilst he is in this world ; for a condition doth suspend
that whereof it is a condition from existence until it be accomplished.
It is, then, to no purpose to dispute any longer about justification, if
indeed no man is, nor can be, justified in this life. But how contrary
this is to Scripture and experience is known.
If it be said, that final perseverancey which is so express a condi-
106 ON JUSTIFICATION.
tion of salvation in tlie new covenant, is not indeed the condition of
our first justification, but it is the condition of the continuation of
our justification; then they yield up their grand position, that what-
ever is a necessary condition of the new covenant is a necessary
condition of justification: for it is that which they call the first
justification alone which we treat about. And that the continuation
of our justification depends solely on the same causes with our justi-
fication itself, shall be aftenvard declared. But it is not yet proved,
nor ever will be, that whatever is required in them that are to be
justified, is a condition whereon their justification is immediately
suspended. We allow that alone to be a condition of justification
which hath an influence of causality thereunto, though it be but the
causality of an instrument. This we ascribe unto faith alone. And
because we do so, it is pleaded that we ascribe inore in our justifica-
tion unto ourselves than they do by whom we are opposed. For>
we ascribe the efficiency of an instrument herein unto our own faith,
when they say only that it is a condition, or " causa sine qua non,"
of our justification. But I judge that grave and wise men ought not
to give so much to the defence of the cause they have undertaken,
seeing they cannot but know indeed the contrary. For after they
have given the specious name of a condition, and a " causa sine qua
non," unto faith, they immediately take all other graces and works of
obedience into the same state with it, and the same use in justifica-
tion ; and after this seeming gold hath been cast for a while into the
fire of disputation, there comes out the calf of a personal, inherent
righteousness, whereby men are justified before God, " virtute foederis
evangelici;" for as for the righteousness of Christ to be imputed unto
us, it is gone into heaven, and they know not what is become of it.
Having given this brief declaration of the nature of justifying faith,
and the acts of it (as I suppose, sufficient unto my present design), I
shall not trouble myself to give an accurate definition of it. What
are my thoughts concerning it, will be better understood by what
hath been spoken, than by any precise definition I can give. And
the truth is, definitions of justifying faith have been so multiplied by
learned men, and in so great variety, and [there is] such a manifest in-
consistency among some of them, that they have been of no advantage
unto the truth, but occasions of new controversies and divisions, whilst
every one hath laboured to defend the accuracy of his o^vn definition,
when yet it may be diflSicult for a true believer to find any thing com-
pliant with his own experience in them; which kind of definitions
in these things I have no esteem for. I know no man that hath
laboured in this argument about the nature of faith more than Dr
Jackson ; yet, when he hath done all, he gives us a definition of jus-
tifying faith which I know few that mil subscribe unto : yet is it, in
THE USE OF FAITH IN JUSTIFICATION. 107
the main scope of it, both pious and sound. For he tells us, " Here,
at length, we may define the faith by which the just do live, to be a
firm and constant adherence unto the mercies and loving-kindness of
the Lord; or, generally, unto the spiritual food exhibited in his sacred
word, as much better than this life itself, and all the contentments it
is capable of; grounded on a taste or relish of their sweetness, wrought
in the soul or heart of a man by the Spirit of Christ." Whereunto
he adds, " The terms for the most part are the prophet David's; not
metaphorical, as some may fancy, much less equivocal, but proper and
homogeneal to the subject defined," tom. i. book iv. chap. 9. For
the lively scriptural expressions of faith, by receiving of Christ, leaning
on him, rolling ourselves or our burden on him, tasting how gracious
the Lord is, and the like, which of late have been reproached, yea,
blasphemed, by many, I may have occasion to speak of them after-
ward ; as also to manifest that they convey a better understanding of
the nature, work, and object of justifying faith, unto the minds of men
spiritually enlightened, than the most accuraie; definitions that many
pretend unto ; some whereof are destnictive and exclusive of them all.
CHAPTER III
The use of faith in justification; its especial object farther cleared.
The description before given of justifying faith doth sufficiently
manifest of what use it is in justification; nor shall I in general
add much unto what may be thence observed unto that purpose.
But whereas this use of it hath been expressed with some variety,
and several ways of it asserted inconsistent with one another, they
must be considered in our passage. And I shall do it with all bre-
vity possible ; for these things lead not in any part of the controver'sy
about the nature of justification, but are merely subservient unto
other conceptions concerning it. When men have fixed their appre-
hensions about the principal matters in controversy, they express
what concemeth the use of faith in an accommodation thereunto.
Supposing such to be the nature of justification as they assert, it
must be granted that the tise of faith therein must be what they
plead for. And if what is peculiar unto any in the substance of the
doctrine be disproved, they cannot deny but that their notions about
the use of faith do fall unto the ground. Thus is it with all who
affirm faith to be either the instrument, or the condition, or the "causa
sine qua non," or the preparation and disposition of the subject, or
1 08 ON JUSTIFICATION.
a meritorious cause, by way of condecency or congniity, in and of
our justification. For all these notions of the use of faith are suited
and accommodated unto the opinions of men concerning the nature
and princiiml causes of justification. Neither can any trial or deter-
mination be made as unto their truth and propriety, but upon a
previous judgment concerning those causes, and the whole nature of
justification itself. Whereas, therefore, it were vain and endless to
plead the principal matter in controversy upon every thing that
occasionally belongs unto it, — and so by the title unto the whole in-
heritance of every cottage that is built on the premises, — I shall
briefly speak unto these various conceptions about the use of faith
in our justification, rather to find out and give an understanding of
what is intended by them, than to argue about their truth and pro-
priety, which depend on that wherein the substance of the contro-
versy doth consist.
Protestant divines, imtil of late, have unanimously affirmed faith
to be the instrumental cause of our justification. So it is expressed
to be in many of the public confessions of their churches. This notion
of theirs concerning the nature and use of faith was from the first
opposed by those of the Eoman church. Afterward it was denied
also by the Socinians, as either false or improper. Socin. Miscellan.
Smalcius adv. Frantz. disput. 4 ; Schlichting. adver. Meisner. de Jus-
tificat. And of late this expression is disliked by some among our-
selves; wherein they follow Episcopius, Curcellseus, and others of
that way. Those who are sober and moderate do rather decline this
notion and expression as improjjer, than reject them as untrue.
And our safest course, in these cases, is to consider what is the thing
or matter intended. If that, be agreed upon, he deserves best of
truth who parts with strife about propriety of expressions, before it
be meddled with. Tenacious pleading about them will surely render
our contentions endless; and none will ever want an appearance of
probability to give them countenance in what they pretend. If our
design in teaching be the same with that of the Scripture, — namely,
to inform the minds of believers, and convey the light of the know-
ledge of God in Christ unto them, we must be contented sometimes
to make use of such expressions as will scarce pass the ordeal of arbi-
trary rules and distinctions, through the whole compass of notional
and artificial sciences. And those who, without more ado, reject the
instrumentality of faith in our justification, as an unscriptural no-
tion, as though it were easy for them with one breath to blow away
the reasons and arguments of so many learned men as have pleaded
for it, may not, I think, do amiss to review the gi'ounds of their con-
fidence. For the question being only concerning what is intended
by it, it is not enough that the term or word itself, of an instrument,
THE USE OF FAITH IN JUSTIFICATION. 109
is not found imto this purpose in the Scripture; for on the same
ground we may reject a trinity of persons in the divine essence,
without an acknowledgment whereof, not one line of the Scripture
can be rightly understood.
Those who assert faith to be as the instrumental cause in our
justification, do it with respect unto two ends. For, first, they design
thereby to declare the meaning of those expressions in'the Scripture
wherein we are said to be justified T/'trrs;, absolutely; which must
denote, either " instnunentum, aut formam, aut modum actionis."
Aoy/^rJ/xs^a ovv TiffTSj 8ix,aiov(!i)ai avSpu-rov, Rom. iii. 28; — " Therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by faith." So, Aia irldTioig, verse 22;
'Ex Tianojg, Rom. i. 17, Gal. iii. 8; Aia rng Ttgnojg, Eph. ii. 8; 'Ex,
-TTiarsug, xai Bia r^g T/tfrsw^, Rom. iii. 30; — that is, " Fide, ex fide,
per fidem ;" which we can express only, by faith, or through faith.
" Propter fidem," or dia 'xianv, for our faith, we are nowhere said to
be justified. The inquiry is. What is the most proper, lightsome, and
convenient way of declaring the meaning of these expressions? This
the generality of Protestants do judge to be by an instrumental
cause: for some kind of causality they do plainly intimate, whereof
the lowest and meanest is that which is instrumental ; for they are
used of faith in our justification before God, and of no other grace or
duty whatever. Wherefore, the proper work or office of faith in our
justification is intended by them. And hid is nowhere used in the
whole New Testament with a genitive case (nor in any other good
author), but it denotes an instrumental efficiency at least. In the
divine works of the holy Tiinity, the operation of the second per-
son, who is in them a principal efficient, yet is sometimes expressed
thereby; it may be to denote the order of operation in the holy
Trinity answering the order of subsistence, though it be applied unto
God absolutely or the Father: Rom. xi. 'M, A/ auroD" — "By him are
all things." Again, s^ 'ipyuv vofiou and i^ axong t/Vt-ewc are directly
opposed, Gal. iii. 2. But when it is said that a man is not justified i^
'ipym v6[j.m, — " by the works of the law," — it is acknowledged by all
that the meamng of the expression is to exclude all ejficiency, in
every kind of such works, from our justification. It follows, there-
fore, that where, in opposition hereunto, we are said to be justified
l-/. rrlariug, — " by faith," — an instrumental efficiency is intended. Yet
will I not, therefore, make it my controversy with any, that faith is
properly an instrument, or the instrumental cause in or of our justi-
fication ; and so divert into an impertinent contest about the nature
and kinds of instruments and instrumental causes, as they are meta-
physically hunted with a confused cry of futilous tenns and distinc-
tions. But this I judge, tliat among all those notions of things which
may be taken from common use and understanding, to represent unto
110 ON JUSTIFICATION.
our minds the meaning and intention of the scriptural expressions so
often used, t/ots/, sx 'xianug, dia msnug, there is none so proper as
this of an instrument or instrumental cause, seeing a causality is
included in them, and that of any other kind certainly excluded;
nor hath it any of its own.
But it may be said, that if faith be the instrumental cause of
justification, it is either the mstrument of God, or the instrument of
believers themselves. That it is not the instrument of God is plain,
in that it is a duty which he prescribeth unto us: it is an act of our
own; and it is we that believe, not God; nor can any act of ours be
the instrument of his work. And if it be our instrument, seeing an
efficiency is ascribed unto it, then are we the efficient causes of our
own justification in some sense, and may be said to justify ourselves;
which is derogatory to the grace of God and the blood of Christ.
I confess that I lay not much weight on exceptions of this nature.
For, First, Notwithstanding what is said herein, the Scripture is ex-
press, that " God justifieth us by faith." " It is one God which shall
justify the circumcision sx, v'lGTiwg" (by faith,) " and the uncircum-
cision hia 7r\g vidrioig," (through or by faith,) Rom. iii. 30. "The
Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through
faith," Gal. iii. 8. As he " purifieth the hearts of men by faith," Acts
XV. 9, wherefore faith, in some sense, may be said to be the instru-
Tnent of God in our justification, both as it is the means and way
ordained and appointed by him on our part whereby we shall be
justified ; as also, because he bestow^eth it on us, and works it in us
unto this end, that we may be justified: for " by grace we are saved
through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God," Eph.
ii. 8. If any one shall now say, that on these accounts, or with re-
spect unto divine ordination and operation concurring unto our jus-
tification, faith is the instrument of God, in its place and w^ay, (as
the gospel also is, Rom, i. 16 ; and the ministers of it, 2 Cor. v. 18;
1 Tim. iv. 6 ; and the sacraments also, Rom. iv. 11 ; Tit. iii. 5, in their
several places and kinds), unto our justification, it may be he will
contribute unto a right conception of the work of God herein, as
much as those shall by whom it is denied.
But that which is principaUy intended is, that it is the instrument
of them that do believe. Neither yet are they said hereon to justify
themselves. For whereas it doth neither really produce the effect of
justification by a physical operation, nor can do so, it being a pure
sovereign act of God ; nor is morally any way meritorious thereof;
nor doth dispose the subject wherein it is unto the introduction of
an inherent formal cause of justification, there being no such thing
in " rerum natura;" nor hath any other physical or moral respect
unto the effect of justification, but what ariseth merely from the con-
THE USE OF FAITH IN JUSTIFICATION. Ill
stitution and appointment of God; there is no colour of reason, from
the instrumentality of faith asserted, to ascribe the effect of justifi-
cation unto any but unto the principal efficient cause, which is God
alone, and from whom it proceedeth in a way of free and sovereign
grace, disposing the order of things and the relation of them one
unto another as seemeth good unto him. A/xa/&Li,«,£i/o/ dupiav rfj au-oij
^dpiTi, Kom. iii. 2-i; A/a t5jj irisnojg sv riZ aurov a/'^cir/, verse 25.
It is, therefore, the ordinance of God prescribing our duty, that we
may be justified freely by his grace, having its use and operation to-
wards that end, after the manner of an instr-ument ; as we shall see
farther immediately. Wherefore, so far as I can discern, they con-
tribute nothing unto the real understanding of this truth, who deny
faith to be the instrumental cause of our justification ; and, on other
grounds, assert it to be the condition thereof, unless they can prove
that this is a more natural exposition of these expressions, viarii, ix
^r/ffrswg, Bia rr^g -Trlffrsug, which is the first thing to be inquii'ed after.
For all that we do in this matter is but to endeavour a right under-
standing of Scripture propositions and expressions, unless we intend
to wander " extra oleas,'"' and lose ourselves in a maze of uncertain
conjectures.
Secondly. They designed to declare the use of faith in justification,
expressed in the Scripture by apprehending and receiving of Christ
or his righteousness, and remission of sins thereby. The words
whereby this use of faith in our justification is expressed, are, Xa/MQavu,
'^rapaXa/j^Qdvoj, and xaraXa/MQdvoj. And the constant use of them in
the Scripture is, to take or receive what is offered, tendered, given,
or granted unto us; or to apprehend and lay hold of any thing
thereby to make it our own: as s'TnXa/j.Qdvo/Mcti is also used in the same
sense, Heb. ii. 16. So we are said by faith to " receive Christ," John
i. 12; Col. ii. 6 ; — the " abundance of grace, and the gift of righteous-
ness," Rom. V. 17; — the " word of promise," Acts ii. 41; — the "word
of God," Acts viii. 14; 1 Thess. i. 6, ii. 13 ; — the "atonement made
by the blood of Christ," Rom. v. 11 ; — the " forgiveness of sins," Acts
X. 43, xxvi. 18; — the "promise of the Spirit," Gal. iiL 14; — the "pro-
mises," Heb. ix. 15. There is, therefore, nothing that concurreth unto
our justification, but we receive it by faith. And unbelief is expressed
by " not receiving," John i. 11, iii. 11, xii. 48, xiv. 17. Wherefore,
the object of faith in our justification, that whereby we are justified,
is tendered, granted, and given unto us of God ; the use of faith being
to lay hold upon it, to receive it, so as that it may be our own.
What we receive of outward things that are so given unto us, we do
it by our hand; Avhich, therefore, is the instrument of that reception,
that whereby we apprehend or lay hold of any thing to appropriate
it unto om-selves, and that, because this is the peculiar ofiice wliii'h,
112 ON JUSTIFICATION.
by nature, it is assigned unto among all the members of the body.
Other uses it hath, and other members, on other accounts, may be as
useful unto the body as it ; but it alone is the instrument of receiving
and apprehending that which, being given, is to be made our own,
and to abide with us. Whereas, therefore, the righteousness where-
with we are justified is the gift of God, which is tendered unto us in
the promise of the gospel ; the use and office of faith being to receive,
apprehend, or lay hold o/and app)ropriate, this lighteousness, I know
not how it can be better expressed than by an instrument, nor by
Avhat notion of it more light of understanding may be conveyed unto
our minds. Some may suppose other notions are meet to express it
by on other accounts; and it may be so with respect unto other uses
of it: but the sole present inquiry is, how it shall be declared, as
that which receiveth Christ, the atonement, the gift of righteous-
ness; which shall prove its only use in our justification. He that can
better express this than by an instrument ordained of God unto this
end, all whose use depends on that ordination of God, will deserve
well of the truth. It is true, that all those who place the formal
cause or reason of our justification in ourselves, or our inherent right-
eousness, and so, either directly or by just consequence, deny all im-
putation of the righteousness of Christ unto our justification, are not
capable of admitting faith to be an instrument in this work, nor are
pressed with this consideration; for they acknowledge not that we
receive a righteousness which is not our own, by way of gift, whereby
we are justified, and so cannot allow of any instrument whereby it
should be received. The righteousness itself being, as they phrase
it, p>utative, imaginary, a chimera, 2^, fiction, it can have no real ac-
cidents,— nothing that can be really predicated concerning it. Where-
fore, as was said at the entrance of this discourse, the truth and pro-
priety of this declaration of the use of faith in our justification by
an instrumental cause, depends on the substance of the doctrine it-
self concerning the nature and principal causes of it, with which they
must stand or fall. If we are justified through the imputation of
the righteousness of Christ, which faith alone apprehends and re-
ceives, it will not be denied but that it is rightly enough placed as
the instrumental cause of our justification. And if we are justified
by an inherent, evangelical righteousness of our own, faith may be
the condition of its imputation, or a disposition for its introduction,
or a congruous merit of it, but an instrument it cannot be. But yet,
for the present, it hath this double advantage:— First, That it best
and most appositely answers what is affirmed of the use of faith in
our justification in the Scripture, as the instances given do manifest.
Secondly, That no other notion of it can be so stated, but that it
must be apprehended in order of time to be previous unto justifica-
THE USE OF FAITH IN JUSTIFICATION. 113
tion ; which justifying faith cannot be, unless a man may be a true
behever with justifymg faith, and yet not be justified.
Some do plead that faith is the condition of our justification, and
that otherwise it is not to be conceived of. As I said before, so I
say again, I shall not contend with any man about words, terms, or
expressions, so long as what is intended by them is agreed upon.
And there is an obvious sense wherein faith may be called the con-
dition of our justification ; for no more may be intended thereby,
but that it is the duty on our part which God requireth, that we may
be justified. And this the whole Scripture beareth witness unto.
Yet this hindereth not but that, as unto its use, it may be the instru-
ment whereby we apprehend or receive Christ and his righteousness.
But to assert it the condition of our justification, or that we are justi-
fied by it as the condition of the new covenant, so as, from a precon-
ceived signification of that word, to give it another use in justification,
exclusive of that pleaded for, as the instrumental cause thereof, is
not easily to be admitted ; because it supposeth an alteration in the
substance of the doctrine itself.
The word is nowhere used in the Scripture in this matter; which
I arofue no farther, but that we have no certain rule or standard to
try and measure its signification by. Wherefore, it cannot first be
introduced in what sense men please, and then that sense turned into
argument for other ends. For thus, on a supposed concession that it
is the condition of our justification, some heighten it into a subordi-
nate righteousness, imputed unto us antecedently, as I suppose, unto
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ in any sense, whereof
it is the condition. And some, who pretend to lessen its efficiency
or dignity in the use of it in our justification, say it is only " causa
sine qua non ;" which leaves us at as great an uncertainty as to the
nature and efficacy of this condition as we were before. Nor is the
true sense of things at all illustrated, but rather darkened, by such
notions.
If we may introduce words into religion nowhere used in the
Scripture (as we may and must, if we design to bring light, and com-
municate proper apprehensions of the things contained [in it] unto the
minds of men), yet are we not to take along with them arbitrary,
preconceived senses, forged either among lawyers or in the perijoa-
tetical school. The use of them in the most approved authors of
the language whereunto they do belong, and their common vulgar
acceptation among ourselves, must determine their sense and mean-
ing. It is known what confusion in the minds of men, the introduc-
tion of words into ecclesiastical doctrines, of whose signification there
hath not been a certain determinate rule agreed on, liath produced.
So the word " merit " was introduced by some of the ancients (as is
VOL. V. 8
114 ON JUSTIFICATION.
plain from tlie design of their discourses where they use it) for im-
petration or acquisition " quovis modo;" — by any means whatever.
But there being no cogent reason to confine the word unto that pre-
cise signification, it hath given occasion to as great a corruption as
hath befiillen Christian religion. We must, therefore, make use of
the best means we have to understand the meaning of this word, and
what is intended by it, before we admit of its use in this case.
" Conditio," in the best Latin writers, is variously used, answering
xarddraffig, rv^ri, K^/a, a/r/a, ffwdriZTj, in the Greek; that is, "status,
fortuna, dignitas, causa, pactum initum." In which of these signifi-
cations it is here to be understood is not easy to be determined. In
common use among us, it sometimes denotes the state and quality
of men, — that is, -/MrdaraGig and dt,ia ; and sometimes a valuable con-
sideration for what is to be done, — that is, a/V/a or omOi^xn- But herein
it is applied unto things in great variety; sometimes the principal
procuring, purchasing cause is so expressed. As the condition whereon
a man lends another a hundred pounds is, that he he paid it again
with interest; — the condition whereon a man convey eth his land
unto another is, that he receive so much money for it: so a condi-
tion is a valuable consideration. And sometimes it signifies such
things as are added to the principal cause, whereon its operation is
suspended; — as a man bequeaths a hundred pounds unto another,
on condition that he come or go to such a place to demand it. This
is no valuable consideration, yet is the effect of the principal cause,
or the will of the testator, suspended thereon. And as unto degrees
of respect unto that whereof any thing is a condition, as to purchase,
procurement, valuable consideration, necessary presence, the variety
is endless. We therefore cannot obtain a determinate sense of this
word condition, but from a particular declaration of what is intended
by it, wherever it is used. And although this be not sufficient to
exclude the use of it from the declaration of the way and manner
how we are justified by faith, yet is it so to exclude the imposition
of any precise signification of it, any other than is given it by the
matter treated of Without this, every thing is left ambiguous and
uncertain whereunto it is applied.
For instance, it is commonly said that faith and new obedience
are the condition of the new covenant; but yet, because of the
ambiguous signification and various use of that term (condition),
we cannot certainly understand what is intended in the assertion.
If no more be intended but that God, in and by the new covenant,
(loth indispensably require these things of us, — that is. the restipula-
tion of a good, conscience towards God, by the resurrection of Christ
from the dead, in order unto his o\rii glory, and our full enjoyment
of all the benefits of it, it is unquestionably true; but if it be intended
THE USE OF FAITII IN JUSTIFICATION. 115
that tliey are such a condition of the covenant as to be by us per-
formed antecedently unto the participation of any grace, mercy, or
privilege of it, so as that they should be the consideration and pro-
curing causes of them, — that they should be all of them, as some speak,
the reward of our faith and obedience, — it is most false, and not only
contrary to express testimonies of Scripture, but destructive of the
nature of the covenant itself. If it be intended that, these things,
though promised in the covenant, and wrought in us by the grace of
God, are yet duties required of us, in order unto the participation
and enjoyment of the full end of the covenant in glory, it is the truth
which is asserted ; but if it be said that faith and new obedience — that
is, the works of righteousness which we do — are so the condition of
the covenant, as that whatever the one is ordained of God as a means
of, and in order to such or such an end, as justification, that the
other is likewise ordained unto the same end, with the same kind of
efficacy, or with the same respect unto the effect, it is expressly con-
trary to the whole scope and express design of the apostle on that
subject. But it will be said that a condition in the sense intended,
when faith is said to be a condition of our justification, is no more
but that it is " causa sine qua non;'' which is easy enough to be ap-
prehended. But yet neither are we so delivered out of uncertainties
into a plain understanding of what is intended; for these " causa?
sine quibus non" may be taken largely or more strictly and precisely.
So are they commonly distinguished by the masters in these arts.
Those so called, in a larger sense, are all such causes, in any kind of
efficiency or merit, as are inferior unto principal causes, and would
operate noticing without them ; but in conjunction with them, have a
real effective influence, physical or moral, into the production of the
effect. And if we take a condition to be a " causa sine qua non" in
this sense, we are still at a loss what may be its use, efficiency, or
merit, with respect unto our justification. If it be taken more strictly
for that which is necessarily present, but hath no causality in any
kind, not that of a receptive instrument, I cannot understand how it
should be an ordinance of God. For every thing that he hath ap-
pointed unto any end, 'moral or spiritual, hath, by virtue of that
appointment, either a symbolical instructive efficacy, or an active
efficiency, or a reivai^dable condecency, with respect unto that end.
Other things may be generally and remotely necessary unto such an
end, so far as it partakes of the order of natural beings, which are
not ordinances of God with respect thereunto, and so have no kind
of causality with respect unto it, as it is moral or spiritual. So the
air we breathe is needful unto the preaching of the word, and con-
sequently a "causa sine qua non" thereof; but an ordinance of God
with especial respect thereunto it is not. But every thing thaL he
\
116 ON JUSTIFICATION.
appoints unto an especial spiritual end, hath an efficacy or operation
in one or other of the ways mentioned ; for they either concur with
the principal cause in its internal efficiency, or they operate exter-
nally in the removal of obstacles and hindrances that oppose the
principal cause in its efficiency. And this excludes all causes " sine
quibus non," strictly so taken, from any place among divine ordi-
nances. God appoints nothing for an end that shall do nothing. His
sacraments are not dpja eriiJjiTa' but, by virtue of his institution, do
exhibit that grace which they do not in themselves contain. The
'preaching of the word hath a real efficiency unto all the ends of it.
So have all the graces and duties that he worketh in us, and requireth
of us: by them all are "we made meet for the inheritance of the
saints in light;" and our whole obedience, through his gracious ap-
pointment, hath a reivardahle condecency with respect unto eternal
life. Wherefore, as faith may be allowed to be the condition of our
justification, if no more be intended thereby but that it is what God
requires of us that we may be justified ; so, to confine the declaration
of its use in our justification unto its being the condition of it, when
so much as a determinate signification of it cannot be agreed upon,
is subservient only unto the interest of unprofitable strife and con-
tention.
To close these discourses concerning faith and its lise in our justi-
fication, some things must yet be added concerning its especial OB-
JECT. For although what hath been spoken already thereon, in the
description of its nature and object in general, be sufficient, in general,
to state its especial object also; yet there having been an inquiry con-
cerning it, and debate about it, in a peculiar notion, and under some
especial terms, that also must be considered. And this is. Whether
justifying faith, in our justification, or its use therein, do respect
Christ as a king and prophet, as well as a priest, with the satisfac-
tion that as such he made for us, and that in the same manner, and
unto the same ends and purposes? And I shall be brief in this in-
quiry, because it isbutaZaie controversy, and, it may be, hath more
of curiosity in its disquisition than of edification in its determination.
However, being not, that I know of, under these terms stated in any
public confessions of the reformed churches, it is free for any to ex-
press their apprehensions concerning it. And to this purpose I say, —
1. Faith, whereby we are justified, in the receiving of Christ, prin-
cipally respects his person, for all those ends for which he is the or-
dinance of God. It doth not, in the first place, as it is faith in general,
respect his person absolutely, seeing its formal object, as such, is the
truth of God in the proposition, and not the thing itself proposed.
Wherefore, it so respects and receives Christ as pi^oposed in the pro-
mise,— the promise itself being the formal object of its assent.
THE ESPECIAL OBJECT OF FAITH. 1 1 7
2. We cannot so receive Christ in the promise, as in that act of
receiving him to exclude the consideration of any of his offices; for
as he is not at any time to be considered by us but as vested with all
his offices, so a distinct conception of the mind to receive Christ as
a priest, hut not as a king or prophet, is not faith, but unbelief, —
not the receiving, but the rejecting of him.
3. In the receiving of Christ for justification formally, o\u- distinct
express design is to be justified thereby, and no more. Now, to be
justified is to be freed from the guilt of sin, or to have all our sins
pardoned, and to have a righteousness wherewith to appear before
God, so as to be accepted with him, and a right to the heavenly
inheritance. Every believer hath other designs also, wherein he is
equally concerned with this, — as, namely, the renovation of his nature,
the sanctification of his person, and ability to live unto God in all
holy obedience; but the things before mentioned are all that he
aimeth at or designeth in his applications unto Christ, or his receiving
of him unto justification. Wherefore, —
4. Justifying faith, in that act or work of it whereby Ave are justi-
fied, respecteth Christ in his priestly office alone, as he was the surety
of the covenant, with what he did in the discharge thereof. The
consideration of his other offices is not excluded, but it is not formally
comprised in the object of faith as justifying.
5. When we say that the sacerdotal office of Christ, or the Uood
of Christ, or the satisfaction of Christ, is that alone which faith re-
spects in justification, we do not exclude, yea, we do really include
and comprise, in that assertion, all that depends thereon, or concurs
to make them effectual unto our justification. As, — First, The "free
grace" and favour of God in giving of Christ for us and unto us,
whereby Ave are frequently said to be justified, Rom. iii. 24; Eph.
ii. 8 ; Tit. iii. 7. His Avisdom, love, righteousness, and power, are of
the same consideration, as hath been declared. Secondly. Whatever
in CJnist himself was necessary antecedently unto his discharge of
that office, or Avas consequential thereof, or did necessarily accompany
it. Such Avas his incarnation, the Avhole course of his obedience,
his resurrection, ascension, excdtation, and intercession ; for the
consideration of all these things is inseparable from the discharge of
his priestly office. And therefore is justification either expressly or
virtually assigned unto them also. Gen. iii. 15; 1 John iii. 8; Heb. ii.
14-16; Rom. iv. 25; Acts v. 31; Heb. vii. 27; Rom. viii. 34. But
yet, wherever our justification is so assigned unto them, they are not
absolutely considered, but Avith respect unto their relation to his sac-
rifice and satisfaction. Thirdly. All the means of the application of
the sacrifice and righteousness of the Lord Chi'ist unto us are also
included therein. Such is the principal efficient cause thereof, Avhich
118 ON JUSTIFICATION.
is the Holy Ghost; whence we are said to be "justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God," 1 Cor. vi.
11; and the instrumental cause thereof on tlie part of God, which
is the " promise of the gospel," Rom. i. 17; Gal. iii. 22, 23. It would,
therefore, be unduly pretended, that by this assertion we do narrow
or straiten the object of justifying faith as it justifies; for, indeed, we
assign a respect unto the luliole mediatory office of Christ, not ex-
cluding the kingly and prophetical parts thereof, Ijut only such a
notion of them as would not bring in more of Christ, but much of
ourselves, into our justification. And the assertion, as laid down, may
be proved, —
(1.) From the experience of all that are justified, or do seek for
justification according unto the gospel: for under this notion of
seeking for justification, or a righteousness unto justification, they
were all of them to be considered, and do consider themselves as
v'ffodixoi Tw Qbw, — "guilty before God," — subject, obnoxious, liable un-
to his VvTath in the curse of the law; as we declared in the entrance
of this discourse, Rom. iii. 19. They were all in the same state that
Adam was in after the fall, unto whom God proposed the relief of
the incarnation and suffering of Christ, Gen. iii. 15. And to seek
after justification, is to seek after a discharge from this woful state
and condition. Such persons have, and ought to have, other designs
and desires also. For whereas the state wherein they are antecedent
unto their justification is not only a state of guilt and lurath, but
such also as wherein, through the depravation of their nature, the
poiuer of sin is prevalent in them, and their whole souls are defiled,
they design and desire not only to be justified, but to be sanctified
also ; but as unto the guilt of sin, and the want of a righteousness
before God, from which justification is their relief, herein, I say, they
have respect unto Christ as " set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood." In their design for sanctification they have
respect unto the kingly and prophetical offices of Christ, in their
especial exercise ; but as to their freedom from the guilt of sin, and
their acceptance with God, or their justification in his sight, — that
they may be freed from condemnation, that they may not come into
judgment, — it is Christ crucified, it is Christ hfted up as the " brazen
serpent" in the wilderness, it is the blood of Christ, it is the propitia-
tion that he was and the atonement that he made, it is his bearing
their sins, his being made sin and the curse for them, it is his obedi-
ence, the end which he put unto sin, and the everlasting righteousness
which he brought in, that alone their faith doth fix upon and acqui-
esce in. If it be otherwise in the experience of any, I acknowledge
I am not acquainted with it. I do not say that conviction of sin is
the only antecedent condition of actual justification; but this it is
THE ESPECIAL OBJECT OF FAITH. 110
that makes a sinner " subjectum capax justificationis." No man,
therefore, is to be considered as a person to be justified, but he who
is actually under the power of the conviction of sin, with all the
necessary consequents thereof. Suppose, therefore, any sinner in
this condition, as it is described by the apostle, Rom. iii., " guilty
before God," with his " mouth stopped" as unto any pleas, defences,
or excuses; suppose him to seek after a relief and deliverance out of
this estate, — that is, to be justified according to the gospel, — he neither
doth nor can wisely take any other course than what he is there
directed unto by the same apostle, verses 20-25, " Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God
without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets; even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ; for there is no differ-
ence : for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; being
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus; 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." Whence I argue, —
That which a guilty, condemned sinner, finding no hope nor relief
from the law of God, the sole rule of all his obedience, doth betake
himself unto by faith, that he may be delivered or justified, — that is
the especial object of faith as justifying. But this is the grace of God
alone, through the redemption that is in Christ ; or Christ proposed
as a propitiation through faith in his blood. Either this is so, or the
apostle doth not aright guide the souls and consciences of men in that
condition wherein he himself doth place them. It is the hlood of
Christ alone that he directs the faith unto of all them that would
be justified before God. Grace, redemption, propitiation, all through
the blood of Christ, faith doth peculiarly respect and fix upon. This
is that, if I mistake not, which they will confirm by their experience
who have made any distinct observation of the actings of their faith
in their justification before God.
(2.) The Scripture plainly declares that faith as justifying resiiects
the sacerdotal office and actings of Christ alone. In the great re-
presentation of the justification of the church of old, in the expiatory
sacrifice, when all their sins and iniquities were pardoned, and their
persons accepted with God, the acting of their faith was limited unto
the imposition of all their sins on the head of the sacrifice by the
high priest. Lev. xvi. " By his knowledge" (that is, by faith in him)
" shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their ini-
quities," Isa. liii. 11. That alone which faith respects in Christ, as
unto the justification of sinners, is his " bearing their iniquities."
120 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Guilty, convinced sinners look unto liim by faitli, as those who were
stung with " fiery serpents" did to the "brazen serpent," — that is, as
he was Ufted up on the cross, John iii. 14, 15. So did he himself
express the nature and actings of faith in our justification. Rom, iii,
24, 25, " Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus : whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood." As he is a propitiation, as he shed his
blood for us, as we have redemption thereby, he is the peculiar object
of our faith, with respect unto our justification. See to the same
purjDOse, Rom. v. 9, 10; Eph. i. 7; Col. i. 14; Eph. ii. 13-16; Rom,
viii. 3, 4. " He was made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. That which
we seek after in justification, is a participation of the righteousness of
God; — to be made the righteousness of God, and that not in ourselves,
but in another ; that is, in Christ Jesus. And that alone which is
proposed unto our faith as the means and cause of it, is his being
made sin for us, or a sacrifice for sin ; wherein all the guilt of our sins
Avas laid on him, and he bare all our iniquities. This, therefore, is
its peculiar object herein. And wherever, in the Scripture, we are
directed to seek for the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Christ,
to receive the atonement, to be justified through the faith of him as
crucified, the object of faith in justification is limited and determined.
But it may be pleaded, in exception unto the testimonies, that no
one of them doth affirm that we are justified by faith in the blood of
Christ alone, so as to exclude the consideration of the other offices of
Christ and their actings from being the object of faith in the same
manner and unto the same ends with his sacerdotal office, and what
belongs thereunto, or is derived from it.
Ans. This exception derives from that common objection against
the doctrine of justification by faith alone, — namely, that that ex-
clusive term alone is not found in the Scripture, or in any of the
testimonies that are produced for justification by faith. But it is
replied, with sufficient evidence of truth, that although the word be
not found syllabically used unto this purpose, yet there are exceptive
expressions equivalent unto it; as we shall see afterward. It is so in
this particular instance also; for, — First, Whereas our justification is
expressly ascribed unto our faith in the blood of Christ as the pro-
pitiation for our sins, unto our believing in him as crucified for us,
and it is nowhere ascribed unto our receiving of him as King, Lord,
or Prophet, it is plain that the former expressions ai'e virtually exclu-
sive of the latter consideration. Secondly, I do not say that the con-
sideration of the kingly and prophetical offices of Christ is excluded
from our justification, as works are excluded in opposition unto faith
and grace: for they are so excluded, as that we are to exercise an
THE ESPECIAL OBJECT OF FAITH. 121
act of our minds in their positive rejection, as saying, ' Get you hence,
you have no lot nor portion in this matter;" but as to these offices of
Christ, as to the object of faith as justifying, we say only that they
are not included therein. For, so to believe to be justified by his
blood, as to exercise a positive act of the mind, excluding a com-
pliance with his other offices, is an impious imagination.
(3.) Neither the consideration of these offices themselves, nor of any
of the peculiar acts of them, is suited to give the souls and con-
sciences of convinced sinners that relief which they seek after in
justification. We are not, in this whole cause, to lose out of our eye
the state of the person who is to be justified, and what it is he doth
seek after, and ought to seek after, therein. Now, this is pardon of
sin, and righteousness before God alone. That, therefore, which is
no way suited to give or tender this relief unto him, is not, nor can
be, the object of his faith whereby he is justified, in that exercise of it
whereon his justification doth depend. This relief, it will be said, is
to be had in Christ alone. It is true; but under what consideration ?
for the sole design of the sinner is, how he may be accepted with
God, be at peace tuith him, have all his ivrath turned aiuay, by a
propitiation or atonement. Now, this can no otherwise be done but
by the acting of some one totuards God and with God on his behalf;
for it is about the turning away of God's anger, and acceptance with
him, that the inquiry is made. It is by the blood of Christ that we
are " made nigh," who were " far off," Eph. ii. 13. By the blood of
Christ are we reconciled, who were enemies, verse 1 6. By the hlood
of Christ we have redemption, Rom. iii. 24, 25 ; Eph. i. 7, etc. This,
therefore, is the object ot faith.
All the actings of the kingly and prophetical offices of Christ are
all of them /ro??i God; that is, in the name and authority of God
towards us. Not any one of them is totuards God on our behalf
so as that by virtue of them we should expect acceptance with God.
They are all good, blessed, holy in themselves, and of an eminent
tendency unto the glory of God in our salvation : yea, they are no
less necessary unto our salvation, to the praise of God's grace, than
are the atonement for sin and satisfaction which he made; for from
them is the way of life revealed unto us, gi'ace communicated, our
persons sanctified, and the reward bestowed. Yea, in the exercise of
his kingly power doth the Lord Christ both pardon and justify sin-
ners. Not that he did as a king constitute the law of justification;
for it was given and established in the first promise, and he came to
put it in execution, John iii. 16; but in the virtue of his atonement
and righteousness, imputed unto them, he doth both pardon and
justify sinners. But they are the acts of his sacerdotal office alone,
that respect God on our behalf Whatever he did on earth with
122 ON JUSTIFICATIOX,
God for the cliurcli, in obedience, suffering, and offering up of him-
self; whatever he doth in heaven, in intercession and appearance in
the presence of God, for us; it all entirely belongs unto his priestly
office. And in these things alone doth the soul of a convinced sin-
ner find relief, when he seeks after deliverance from the state of sin,
and acceptance with God. In these, therefore, alone the peculiar
object of his faith, that which will give him rest and peace, must be
comprised. And this last consideration is, of itself, sufficient to de-
termine this difference.
Sundry things are objected against this assertion, which I shall
not here at large discuss, because what is material in any of them
will occur on other occasions, where its consideration will be more
proper. In general it may be pleaded, that justifying faith is the
same with saving faith : nor is it said that we are justified by this
or that part of faith, but by faith in general; that is, as taken essen-
tially, for the entire grace of faith. And as unto faith in this sense,
not only a respect unto Christ in all his offices, but obedience itself
also is included in it ; as is evident in many places of the Scripture.
Wherefore, there is no reason why we should limit the object of it
unto the person of Christ as acting in the discharge of his sacerdotal
office, with the effects and fruits thereof.
Ans. 1. Saving faith and justifying faith, in any believer, are
one and the same; and the adjuncts of saving and justifying are but
external denominations, from its distinct operations and effects. But
yet saving faith doth act in a peculiar manner, and is of peculiar use
in justification, such as it is not of under any other consideration
whatever. Wherefore, — 2. Although saving faith, as it is described
in general, do ever include obedience, not as its fonn or essence, but
as the necessary effect is included in the cause, and the fruit in the
fruit-bearing juice; and is often mentioned as to its being and exer-
cise where there is no express mention of Christ, his blood, and his
righteousness, but is applied unto all the acts, duties, and ends of the
gospel ; yet this proves not at all but that, as unto its duty, place,
and acting in omx justification, it hath a peculiar object. If it could
be proved, that where justification is ascribed unto faith, that there
it hath any other object assigned unto it, as that which it rested in
for the pardon of sin and acceptance with God, this objection were
of some force ; but this cannot be done. 3. This is not to say that
we are justified by a part of faith, and not by it as considered essen-
tially; for Ave are justified by the entire grace of faith, acting in such
a peculiar way and m.anner, as others have observed. But the truth
is, we need not insist on the discussion of this inquiry; for the true
meaning of it is, not whether any thing of Christ is to be excluded
from being the object of justifying faith, or of faith in our justifica-
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. ] 23
tion; but, what in and of ourselves, under the name of receivinr/
Christ as our Lord and King, is to be admitted unto an efficiency
or conditionality in that work. As it is granted that justifying faith
is the receiving of Christ, so whatever belongs unto the person of
Christ, or any office of his, or any acts in the discharge of any office,
that may be reduced unto any cause of our justification, the merito-
rious, procuring, material, formal, or manifesting cause of it, is, so far
as it doth so, freely admitted to belong unto the object of justifying
faith. Neither will I contend with any upon this disadvantageous
stating of the question, — What of Christ is to be esteemed the object
of justifying faith, and what is not so? for the thing intended is only
this, — Whether our otvii obedience, distinct from faith, or included
in it, and in like manner as faith, be the condition of our justifica-
tion before God? This being that which is intended, which the other
question is but invented to lead unto a compliance with, by a more
specious pretence than in itself it is capable of, under those terms it
shall be examined, and no otherwise.
CHAPTER IV.
Of justification; the notion and signification of the word in Scripture.
Unto the right understanding of the nature of justification, the
proper sense and signification of these words themselves, justifica-
tion and to justify, is to be inquired into ; for until that is agreed
upon, it is impossible that our discourses concerning the thing itself
should be freed from equivocation. Take words in various senses,
and all may be true that is contradictorily affirmed or denied con-
cerning what they are supposed to signify; and so it hath actually
fallen out in this case, as we shall see more fully afterward. Some
taking these words in one sense, some in another, have appeared to
deliver contrary doctrines concerning the thing itself, or our justifi-
cation before God, who yet have fully agreed in what the proper
determinate sense or signification of the words doth import; and
therefore the true meaning of them hath been declared and vindi-
cated already by many. But whereas the right stating hereof is of
more moment unto the determination of what is principally contro-
verted about the doctrine itself, or the thing signified, than most do
apprehend, and something at least remains to be added for the de-
claration and vindication of the import and only signification of these
words in the Scripture, I shall give an account of my observations
concerning it with what diliarence I can.
124 ON JUSTIFICATION.
The Latin derivation and composition of the word " justificatlo"
would seem to denote an internal change from inherent unrighteous-
ness unto righteousness likewise inherent, by a physical motion and
transmutation, as the schoolmen speak; for such is the significa-
tion of words of the same composition. So sanctification, Tnorti-
fication, vivification, and the like, do all denote a real internal work
on the subject spoken of. Hereon, in the whole Roman school,
justification is taken for jiistif action, or the making of a man to be
iyiherently righteous, by tl^ie infusion of a principle or habit of grace,
who was before inherently and habitually unjust and unrighteous.
Whilst this is taken to be the proper signification of the word, we
neither do nor can speak, ad idem, in our disputations with them
about the cause and nature of that justification which the Scripture
teacheth.
And this appearing sense of the word possibly deceived some of
the ancients, as Austin in particular, to declare the doctrine of free,
gratuitous sanctification, without respect unto any works of our own,
under the name of justification ; for neither he nor any of them
ever thought of a justifi^cation before God, consisting in the pardon
of our sins and the acceptation of our persons as righteous, by vir-
tue of any inherent habit of grace infused into us, or acted by us.
Wherefore the subject-matter must be determined by the scriptural
use' and signification of these words, before we can speak properly or
intelligibly concerning it: for if to justify men in the Scripture,
signify to make them subjectively and inherently righteous, we must
acknovvledo-e a mistake m what we teach concerning the nature and
causes of justification; and if it signify no such thing, all their dis-
putations about justification by the infusion of grace, and inherent
righteousness thereon, fall to the ground. Wherefore, all Protestants
(and the Socinians all of them comply therein) do affirm, that the use
and signification of these words is forensic, denoting an act of juris-
diction. Only the Socinians, and some others, would have it to con-
sist in the pardon of sin only ; which, indeed, the word doth not at all
signify. But the sense of the word is, to assoil, to acquit, to declare
and pronounce righteous upon a trial ; which, in this case, the pardon
of sin doth necessarily accompany.
" Justificatio" and "justifico" belong not, indeed, unto the Latin
tongue, nor can any good author be produced who ever used them,
for the making of him inhei'ently righteous, by any means, who was
not so before. But whereas these Avords were coined and framed to
signify such things as are intended, we have no way to determine the
signification of them, but by the consideration of the nature of the
things which they were invented to declare and signify. And
whereas, in this language, these words are derived from "jus" and
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 125
" justum," they must respect an act of jurisdiction rather than a phy-
sical operation or infusion. " Justificari" is "Justus censeri, pro justo
haberi;" — to be esteemed, accounted, or adjudged righteous. So a
man was made "Justus fihus," in adoption, unto him by whom he
was adopted ; which, what it is, is well declared by Budseus, Cajus
lib. ii., F. de Adopt. De Arrogatione loquens : "Is qui adoptat
rogatur, id est, interrogatur, an velit eum quem adopturus sit, justum
sibi filium esse. Justum," saith he, " intelligo, non verum, ut aliqui
censent, sed omnibus j^artibus, ut ita dicam, fihationis, veri filii vicem
obtinentem, naturalis et legitimi filii loco sedentem." Wherefore, as
by adoption there is no internal inherent change made in the per-
son adopted, but by virtue thereof he is esteemed and adjudged as
a true son, and hath all the rights of a legitimate son; so hj justifi-
cation, as to the importance of the word, a man is only esteemed,
declared, and pronounced righteous, as if he were completely so.
And in the present case justification and gratuitous adop>tion are
the same grace, for the substance of them, John i. ] 2 ; only, respect
is had, in their different denomination of the same grace, unto differ-
ent effects or privileges that ensue thereon.
But the true and genuine signification of these words is to be de-
termined from those in the original languages of the Scripture which
are expounded by them. In the Hebrew it is Pl^. This the LXX.
render by Alzaiov a^xotpaivo, Job xxvii. 5 ; Aixaiog ava(pa!vojxai, chap. xiii.
18; Aly.aiov xphu, Prov. xvii. 15 ; — to shower declare one righteous; to
appear righteous; to judge any one righteous. And the sense may
be taken from any one of them, as Job xiii. 18, ^^t^^'^ ''^^1^ ^^''^P.'?
P'^V^ "'^^""'l 'Ti^l'^, — " Behold, now I have ordered my cause; I know
that I shall be justified." The ordering of his cause (his judgment),
his cause to be judged on, is his preparation for a sentence, either of
absolution or condemnation : and hereon his confidence was, that he
should be justified; that is, absolved, acquitted, pronounced righteous.
And the sense is no less preguant in the other places. Commonly,
they render it by hxaim' whereof I shall speak afterward.
Properly, it denotes an action towards another (as justification and
to justify do) in Hiphil only; and a reciprocal action of a man on
himself in Hithpael, P"^P>'n. Hereby alone is the true sense of these
words determined. And I say, that in no place, or on any occasion,
is it used in that conjugation wherein it denotes an action towards
another, in any other sense but to absolve, acquit, esteem, declare,
pronounce righteous, or to impute righteousness; which is i\iQ foren-
sic sense of the word we plead for; — that is its constant use and sig-
nification, nor doth it ever once signify to make inherently righteous,
much less to pardon or forgive: so vain is the pretence of some, that
justification consists only in the pardon of sin, which is not signified
126 ON JUSTIFICATION.
by the word in any one place of Scripture. Almost in all places
this sense is absolutely unquestionable ; nor is there any more than
one which will admit of any debate, and that on so faint a pretence
as cannot prejudice its constant use and signification in all other
places. Whatever, therefore, an infusion of inherent grace may be,
or however it may be cdiWed, justification it is not, it cannot be; the
word nowhere signifying any such thing. Wherefore those of the
church of Rome do not so much oppose justification by faith through
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, as, indeed, deny that
there is any such thiug as justification : for that which they call
the first justification, consisting in the infusion of a jJrinciple of in-
herent grace, is no such thing as justification : and their second jus-
tification, which they place in the merit of works, wherein absolution
or pardon of sin hath neither place nor consideration, is inconsistent
with evangelical justification ; as we shall show afterward.
This word, therefore, whether the act of God towards men, or of men
towards God, or of men among themselves, or of one towards another,
be expressed thereby, is always used in a forensic sense, and doth not
denote a physical operation, transfusion, or transmutation. 2 Sam.
XV. 4, " If any man hath a suit or cause, let him come to me," I'^J^P'^^'^'],
" and I will do him justice ;" — " I will justify him, judge in his cause,
and pronounce for him." Deut.xxv. 1, "If there be a controversy among
men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them,"
p'l'H^'riTii^ ^p''~i;ni^ "they shall justify the righteous;" pronounce sentence
on his side : whereunto is opposed, V^IO"^? ^J'''"^ir'^ , — " and they shall
condemn the wicked;" make him wicked, as the word signifies; — that
is, judge, declare, and pronounce him wicked ; whereby he becomes
so judicially, and in the eye of the law, as the other is made right-
eous by declaration and acquitment. He doth not say, " This shall
pardon the righteous;" which to suj^pose would overthrow both the
antithesis and design of the place. And J^V'l'l is as much to infuse
wickedness into a man, as P''"^^"'!' is to infuse a principle of grace
or righteousness into him. The same antithesis occurs, Prov. xvii. 15,
p^-nv y^t^'-io^ ytri p^^'p^_" He that justifieth the wicked, and con-
demneth the righteous." Not he that maketh the wicked inher-
ently righteous, not he that changeth him inherently from unright-
eous unto righteousness; but he that, without any ground, reason, or
foundation, acquits him in judgment, or declares him to be righteous,
" is an abomination unto the Lord." And altho^igh this be spoken of
ihe judgment of men, yet the judgment of God also is according unto
this truth: for although he justifieth the ungodly, — those who are so
in themselves, — yet he doth it on the ground and consideration of
a perfect righteousness made theirs by imputation ; and by another
act of his grace, that they may be meet subjects of this righteous
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 127
favour, really and inherently changeth them from unrighteousness
unto holhiess, by the renovation of their natures. And these things
are singular in the actings of God, which nothing amongst men hath
any resemblance unto or can represent; for the imputation of the
righteousness of Chrnst unto a person in himself ungodly, unto his
justification, or that he may be acquitted, absolved, and declared
righteous, is built on such foundations, and proceedeth on such prin-
ciples of righteousness, wisdom, and sovereignty, as have no place
among the actions of men, nor can have so ; as shall afterward be de-
clared. And, moreover, when God doth justify the ungodly, on the
account of the righteousness imputed unto him, he doth at the same
instant, by the power of his grace, make him inherently and sub-
jectively righteous or holy; which men cannot do one towards an-
other. And therefore, v/hereas man's justifying of the wicked is to
justify them in their wicked ways, whereby they are constantly made
worse, and more obdurate in evil; when God justifies the ungodly,
their change from personal unrighteousness and unholiness unto
righteousness and holiness doth necessarily and infallibly accom-
pany it.
To the same purpose is the word used, Isa. v. 23, " Which justify the
wicked for reward;'' and chap. 1. 8, 9, ''i?'''^>'^ ^iii^, — " He is near that
justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who
is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GoD
will help me; who shall condemn me ?" where we have a full declara-
tion of the proper sense of the word ; which is, to acquit and pronounce
righteous on a trial. And the same sense is fully expressed in the
former antithesis. 1 Kings viii. 81, 32, " If any man trespass against
his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear,
and the oath come before thine altar in this house ; then hear thou
in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants," V^l ^^'^yj^, " to condemn
the wicked," to charge his wickedness on him, to bring his way on
his head, P"'^V P'''^V'!'r'^, " and to justify the righteous." The same
words are repeated,' 2 Chron. vi. 22, 23. Ps. Ixxxii. 3, ^?'^>i^ t^lV^J^
— " Do justice to the afilicted and poor;" that is, justify them in their
cause against wrong and oppression. Exod. xxiii. 7, J'^'l P''1>'^"^''' —
" I will not justify the wicked;" absolve, acquit, or pronounce him
righteous. Job xxvii. 5, Q^riN p^-nv^-DN i n^^i^ri—" Be it far from
me that I should justify you," or pronounce sentence on your side,
iis if you were righteous. Isa. liii. 11, "By his knoAvledge my right-
eous servant," P'''^V-, " shall justify many :" the reason whereof is added,
" For he shall bear then- iniquities;" whereon they are absolved and
justified.
Once it is used in Hithpael, wherein a reciprocal action is de-
noted, that whereby a man justifieth himself Gen. xliv. 10", "And
128 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Judali said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?"
p^Dyrnp^^ "and how shall we justify ourselves? God hath found out
our iniquity." They could plead nothing why they should be ab-
solved from guilt.
Once the participle is used to denote the outward instrumental
cause of the justification of others; in which place alone there is any
doubt of its sense. Dan. xii. 3, Q'3">0 'i?.'1V»^— " And they that jus-
tify many," namely, in the same sense that the preachers of the
gospel are said " to save themselves and others," 1 Tim. iv. 16; for
men may be no less the instrumental causes of the justification of
others than of their sanctification.
Wherefore, although PT^ vaKoI signifies "justum esse," and some-
times " juste agere," which may relate unto inherent righteousness,
yet where any action towards another is denoted, this word signifies
nothing but to esteem, declare, pronounce, and adjudge any one
absolved, acquitted, cleared, justified: there is, therefore, no other
kind of justification once mentioned in the Old Testament.
A/xa/dw is the word used to the same purpose in the New Testa-
ment, and that alone. Neither is this word used in any good author
whatever to signify the making of a man righteous by any applica-
tions to produce internal righteousness in him; but either to absolve
and acquit, to judge, esteem, and pronounce righteous; or, on the
contrary, to condemn. So Suidas, ^i7.aio\Jv bvh driXoT, rh rs -/.oXd^nv,
xai TO dixaiov vofiit^siv — " It hath two significations; to punish, and
to account righteous." And he confirms this sense of the word by
instances out of Herodotus, Appianus, and Josephus. And again,
Aizaiuffai, a/Tiarixri, xarahixdcai, xoXccffa/, dixaiov vo/Misai, With an accu-
sative case; that is, when it resyiects and affects a subject, a person,
it is either to condemn and punish, or to esteem and declare right-
eous : and of this latter sense he gives pregnant instances in the next
words. Hesychius mentions only the first signification. Aixaiov/M^vov,
xcXa^ofisvov, hixaiumi, xoXdaai. They never thought of any sense of
this word but what {^forensic. And, in our language, to he justified
was commonly used formerly for to be judged and sentenced ; as it
is still among the Scots. One of the articles of peace between the '
two nations at the surrender of Leith, in the days of Edward VI.,
was, "That if any one committed a crime, he should be justified
by the law, upon his trial." And, in general, bixmZs&ai is " jus in
judicio auferre;" and dixaiumi is "justum censere, declarare pronun-
tiare;" and how in the Scripture it is constantly opposed unto " con-
demnare," we shall see immediately.
But we may more distinctly consider the use of this word in the
New Testament, as we have done that of P^l"^^ in the Old. And that
which we inquu'e concei'ning is, — whether this word be used in the
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 129
New Testament in o, forensic sense, to denote an act oi jurisdiction ;
or in a 'physical sense, to express an internal change or mutation, —
the infusion of a habit of righteousness, and the denomination of the
person to be justified thereon ; or whether it signifieth not pardon of
sin. But this we may lay aside: for surely no man was ever yet so
fond as to pretend that hixaioo) did signify to pardon sin, yet is it the
only word applied to express our justification in the New Testament ;
for if it be taken only in the former sense, then that which is pleaded
for by those of the Roman church under the name of justification,
whatever it be, however good, useful, and necessary, yet justification
it is not, nor can be so called, seeing it is a tiling quite of another na-
ture than what alone is signified by that word. Matt. xi. 19, ' 'Ebixaiwdri
vj 2o^/a, — " Wisdom is justified of her children ; " not made just, but ap-
proved and declared. Chap. xii. 37, 'Ez rSiv Xoyuv gov dtzaiudrisf — "By
thy words thou shalt be justified ;" not made just by them, but judged
according to them, as is manifested in the antithesis, xal 1% ruv >.6ym
eov xaTadixasdriari, — " and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
Luke vii. 29, 'TLdixalcoaav rh 0S6V — " They justified God;" not, surely,
by making him righteous in himself, but by owning, avowing, and de-
claring his righteousness. Chap. x. 29, ' O 5s ^iXm dr/.aiouv iccvrov — "He,
willing to justify himself;" to declare and maintain his own righteous-
ness. To the same purpose, chap. xvi. 15, 'T/xs/g hrs oi Bizaicuvrsg
lavTovg svdJ'Triov tojv avSpuTuv, — " Ye are they which justify yourselves
before men;" they did not make themselves internally righteous,
but approved of their own condition, as our Saviour declares in the
place, chap, xviii. 14, the pul)lican went down ds^iTiatu/xhog (justi-
fied) unto his house ; that is, acquitted, absolved, pardoned, upon the
confession of his sin, and supplication for remission. Acts xiii. 38, 39,
with Rom. ii. 13, 0/ iroirirai rou vv/j.ou dixaiudTjcrovra/' — "The doers of
the law shall be justified." The place declares directly the nature of
our justification before God, and puts the signification of the word
out of question; for justification ensues as the whole effect of inherent
righteousness according unto the law: and, therefore, it is not the
making of us righteous, which is irrefragable. It is spoken of God,
Rom. iii. 4, "O-tw? civ di/iaiuidfig h roTg Xoyoig (fov — " That thou mightest
be justified in thy sayings;" where to ascribe any other sense to the
word is blasphemy. In like manner the same word is used, and in
the same signification, 1 Cor. iv. 4; 1 Tim. iii. 16; Rom. iii. 20, 26,
28, 80, iv. 2, 5, v. 1, 9, vi. 7, viii. 30; Gal. ii. 16, 17, iii. 11, 24, v. 4;
Tit. iii. 7; James ii. 21, 24, 2.5 ; and in no one of these instances can
it admit of any other signification, or denote tlie making of any man
righteous by the infusion of a habit or principle of righteousness, or
any internal mutation whatever.
It is not, therefore, in many places of Scripture, as Bellarmii.e
VOL. V 9
130 ON JUSTIFICATION.
grants, that the words we have insisted on do signify the declaration
or juridical pronunciation of any one to be righteous ; but, in all
places where they are used, they are capable of no other but Si forensic
sense; — especially is this evident where mention is made oi justifica-
tion before God. And because, in my judgment, this one considera-
tion doth sufficiently defeat all the pretences of those of the Roman
church about the nature of justification, I shall consider what is
excepted against the observation insisted on, and remove it out of our
way.
Lud. de Blanc, in his reconciliatory endeavours on this article of jus-
tification, (" Thes. de Usu et Acceptatione Vocis, Justificandi,") grants
unto the Papists that the word bixaiou doth, in sundry places of the
New Testament, signify to renew, to sanctify, to infuse a habit of
holiness or righteousness, according as they plead. And there is no
reason to think but he hath grounded that concession on those in-
stances which are most pertinent vmto that purpose; neither is it
to be expected that a better countenance will be given by any unto
this concession than is given it by him. I shall therefore examine
all the instances which he insists upon unto this purpose, and leave
the determination of the difference unto the judgment of the reader.
Only, I shall premise that which I judge not an unreasonable de-
mand,— namely, that if the signification of the word, in any or all
the places which he mentions, should seem doubtful unto any (as it
doth not unto me), that the uncertainty of a very few places should
not make us question the proper signification of a word whose sense
is determined in so many wherein it is clear and unquestionable.
The first place he mentioneth is that of the apostle Paul himself,
Rom. viii. 30, " Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also
called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he
justified, them he also glorified." The reason whereby he pleads that
by justified in this place, an internal work of inherent holiness in
them that are predestinated is designed, is this, and no other: " It
is not," saith he, " likely that the holy apostle, in this enumeration of
gracious privileges, would omit the mention of our sanctification, by
which we are freed from the service of sin, and adorned with true
internal holiness and righteousness. But this is utterly omitted, if it
be not comprised under the name and title of being justified; for it is
absurd with some to refer it unto the head of glorification."
Ans. 1. The grace of sanctification, whereby our natures are spi-
ritually washed, purified, and endowed with a principle of life, holi-
ness, and obedience unto God, is a privilege unquestionably great
and excellent, and without which none can be saved; of the same
nature, also, is our redemption by the blood of Christ; and both
these doth this apostle, in other places without number, declare, com-
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 131
inend, and insist upon : but that he ought to have introduced the
mention of them or either of them in this place, seeing he hath not
done so, I dare not judge.
2. If our sanctijication be included or intended in any of the
privileges here expressed, there is none of them, pi'edestination only
excepted, but it is more probably to be reduced unto, than unto that
of being justified. Indeed, in vocation it seems to be included
expressly. For whereas it is effectual vocation that is intended,
wherein a holy principle of spiritual life, or faith itself, is communi-
cated unto us, our sanctijication radically, and as the effect in its
adequate immediate cause, is contained in it. Hence, we are said to
" be called to be saints," Rom. i. 7 ; which is the same with being
" sanctified in Christ Jesus," 1 Cor. i. 2. And in many other places
is sanctijication included in vocation.
3. Whereas our sanctification, in the infusion of a principle of
spiritual life, and the actings of it unto an increase in duties of holi-
ness, righteousness, and obedience, is that whereby we are made
meet for glory, and is of the same nature essentially with glory itself,
whence its advances in us are said to be from " glory to gloiy,"
2 Cor. iii. 18; and glory itself is called the "grace of life," 1 Pet.
iii. 7 : it is much more properly expressed by our being glorified than
by being justified, which is a privilege quite of another nature.
However, it is evident that there is no reason why we should depart
from the general use and signification of the word, no circumstance
in the text compelling us so to do.
The next place that he gives up unto this signification is 1 Cor.
vi. 11, " Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanc-
tified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the
Spirit of our God." That by justification here, the infusion of an
inherent principle of grace, making us inherently righteous, is in-
tended, he endeavoureth to prove by three reasons: — 1. "Because
justification is here ascribed unto the Holy Ghost: ' Ye are justified
by the Spirit of our God.' But to renew us is the proper work of
the Holy Spirit." 2. " It is manifest," he says, " that by justifica-
tion the apostle doth signify some change in the Corinthians, whereby
they ceased to be what they were before. For they were fornicators
and drunkards, such as could not inherit the kingdom of God ; but
now were changed : which proves a real inherent work of grace to be
intended." 3. " If justification here signify nothing but to be ab-
solved from the punishment of sin, then the reasoning of the apostle
will be infinn and frigid: for after he hath said that which is
greatei-, as heightening of it, he addeth the less; for it is more to be
washed than merely to be freed from the punishment of sin."
Ans. 1. All these reasons prove not that it is the same to be
132 ON JUSTIFICATION.
sanctified and to be justified; which must be, if that be the sense of
the latter which is here pleaded for. But the apostle makes an
express distinction between them, and, as this author observes, pro-
ceeds from one to another, by an ascent from the lesser to the greater.
And the infusion of a habit or principle of grace, or righteousness
evangelical, whereby we are inherently righteous, by which he ex-
plains our being justified in this place, is our sanctification, and
nothing else. Yea, and sanctification is here distinguished from
washing, — " But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified;" so ks that it
peculiarly in this place denotes positive habits of grace and holiness:
neither can he declare the nature of it any way different from what
he would have expressed by being justified.
2. Justificaiion is ascribed unto the Spirit of God, as the principal
efficient cause of the application of the grace of God and blood of
Christ, whereby we are justified, unto our souls and consciences; and
he is so also of the operation of that faith whereby we are justified :
whence, although we are said to be justified by him, yet it doth not
follow that our justification consists in the renovation of our natures.
3. The change and mutation that was made in these Corinthians,
so far as it was physical, in effects inherent (as such there was), the
apostle expressly ascribes unto their washing and sanctification; so
that there is no need to suppose this change to be expressed by their
being justified. And in the real change asserted — that is, in the
renovation of our natures — consists the true entire work and nature
of our sanctification. But Avhereas, by reason of the vicious habits
and practices mentioned, they were in a state of condemnation, and
such as had no right unto the kingdom of heaven, they were by their
justification changed and transferred out of that state into another,
wherein they had peace with God, and right imto life eternal.
4. The third reason proceeds upon a mistake, — namely, that to be
justified is only to be " freed from the punishment due unto sin ;"
for it compriseth both the non-imputation of sin and the vmputation
of righteousness, with the privilege of adoption, and right unto the
heavenly inheritance, which are inseparable from it. And although
it doth not appear that the apostle, in the enumeration of these privi-
leges, did intend a process from the lesser unto the greater; nor is it
safe for us to compare the unutterable effects of the grace of God by
Christ Jesus, such as sanctification and justification are, and to
determine which is greatest and which is least; yet, following the
conduct of the Scripture, and the due consideration of the things
themselves, we may say that in this life we can be made partakers of
no greater mercy or privilege than what consists in our justification.
And the reader may see from hence how impossible it is to produce
any one place wherein the words "justification," and •' to justify," do
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 133
signify a real internal work and plij'sical operation, in that this
learned man, a person of more than ordinary perspicacity, candour,
and judgment, designing to prove it, insisted on such instances as
give so little countenance unto what he pretended. He adds, Tit.
iii. 5-7, " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being justified by his gTace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
The argument which he alone insists upon to prove that by justifica-
tion hei'e, an infusion of internal grace is intended, is this: — that the
apostle affirming first, that " God saved us, according unto his mercy,
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," and
afterward affirming that we are "justified by his grace," he supposes it
necessary that we should be regenerate and renewed, that we ma}^ be
justified ; and if so, then our justification contains and compriseth our
sanctification also.
Ans. The plain truth is, the apostle speaks not one word of the
necessity of our sanctification, or regeneration, or renovation by
the Holy Ghost, antecedently unto our justification; a supposition
whereof contains the whole force of this argument. Indeed he as-
signs our regeneration, renovation, and justification, all the means
of our salvation, all equally unto grace and mercy, in opposition unto
any works of our own; which we shall afterwards make use of. ,Nor'
is there illtjmatp<j_by \\\v(\_^x}j_jm]^r^_c^^_^-ecp.dency or connection
between the things that he mentions, but only between justification
and adoption, justification having the priority in order ^TliaEureT
" That, being justified by his grace, we should be heirs according to
the hope of eternal life." All thejbhings he ment.inn^nrp irisppnyRblp^
No man is regenerate or renewed by the Holy Ghost, but withal he
is justified;- — no man is justified, but withal he is renewed by the
Holy Ghost. And they are all of them equally of sovereign grace
in God, in opposition unto any works of righteousness that we have
wrought. And we plead for the freedom of God's grace in sanctifica-
tion no less than in justification. But that it is necessary that we
should be sanctified, that we may be justified before God, who justi-
fieth the ungodly, the apostle says not in this place, nor any thing to
that pui-pose; neither yei, if he did so, would it at all prove that the
signification of that expression, " to be justified," is " to be sanctified,"
or to have inherent holiness and righteousness wrought in us : and these
testimonies would not have been produced to prove it, wherein these
things are so expressly distinguished, but that there are none to be
found of more force or evidence.
The last place wherein he grants this signification of the word
134 ON JUSTIFICATION.
dizaiou, is Rev. xxii. 11, 'O dix.aiog dixaiuSriToj Iti' — " Qui Justus est, jus-
tificetur adliuc;" which place is pleaded by all the Romanists. And
our author saj^s they are but few among the Protestants who do not
acknowledge that the word cannot be here used in a forensic sense,
but that to be justified, is to go on and increase in piety and right-
eousness.
Ans. But, — (1.) There is a great objection lies in the Avay of any
argument from these words, — namely, from the various reading of
the place ; for many ancient copies read, not ' O h'maiog hr/.aiudyjToi in,
which the Vulgar renders " Justificetur adhuc;" but, Ar/iaiosuvi^v voiri-
saroj 'irr — "Let him that is righteous work righteousness still," as doth
the printed copy which now lieth before me. So it was in the copy of
the Complutensian edition, which Stephens commends above all
others, and in one more ancient copy that he used. So it is in the
Syriac and Arabic published by Hutterus, and in our own Polyglot.
So Cyprian reads the words, " De bono patientiee; Justus autem ad-
huc justiora faciat, similiter et qui sanctus sanctioi'a." And I doubt
not but that it is the true reading of the place, diTiaiudyiru being sup-
plied by some to comply with ayiaaD/i-oj that ensues. And this
phrase of diTtaioaCvriv -ttohTv is peculiar unto this apostle, being nowhere
used in the New Testament (nor, it may be, in any other author) but
by him. And he useth it expressl}^, 1 Epist. ii. 29, and chap. iii. 7,
where these words, 'O •xoiuv diKaiosuv/iv. b!x.ai6g sffTi, do plainly contain
what is here expressed. (2.) To be justified, as the word is rendered
by the Vulgar, " Let him be justified more" (as it must be rendered,
if the word dtxaicodyjru be retained), respects an act of God, which
neither in its beginning nor continuation is prescribed unto us as a
duty, nor is capable of increase in degrees; as we shall show after-
ward. (3.) Men are said to be hlxaioi generally from inherent right-
eousness; and if the apostle had intended justification in this place,
he would not have said 6 bixaiog, but 6 dixaiuhlg. All which things
prefer the Complutensian, Syriac, and Arabic, before the Vulgar read-
ing of this place. If the Vulgar reading be retained, no more can be
intended but that he who is righteous should so proceed in working
righteousness as to secure his justified estate unto himself, and to
manifest it before God and the world.
Now, whereas the words dr/.ai6u and diy-aioufxa/ are used thirty-six
times in the New Testament, these are all tlie places whereunto
any exception is put in against their /ore?isic signification; and how
ineffectual these exceptions are, is evident unto any impartial judge.
Some other considerations may yet be made use of, and pleaded
to the same purpose. Such is the opposition that is made between
justification and condemnation. So is it, Isa. 1. 8, 9 ; Prov. xvii. 1 5 ;
Rom. V. 16, 18, viii. 38, 34; and in sundry other places, as may be
THE MEANING OF JUSTIFICATION. 135
observed in the preceding enumeration of them. Wherefore, as con-
demnation is not the infusing of a habit of wickedness into him that
is condemned, nor the making of him to be inherently wicked who
was before righteous, but the passing a sentence upon a man with
respect unto his wickedness ; no more is justification the change of a
person from inherent unrighteousness unto righteousness, by the in-
fusion of a principle of grace, but a sentential declaration of him to
be righteous.
Moreover, the thing intended is frequently declared in the Scrip-
ture by other equivalent terms, which are absolutely exclusive of any
such sense as the infusion of a habit of righteousness ; so the
apostle expresseth it by the '" imputation of righteousness without
works," Eom., iv. 6, 11; and calls it the "blessedness" which we
have by the " pardon of sin" and the " covering of iniquity," in the
same place. So it is called " reconciliation with God," Rom. v. 9, 1 0.
To be "justified by the blood of Christ" is the same with being " re-
conciled by his death." " Being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath by him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, being recon-
ciled, we shall be saved by his life." See 2 Cor. v. 20, 21. Recon-
ciliation is not the infusion of a habit of grace, but the effecting of
peace and love, by the removal of all enmity and causes of offence.
To " save," and " salvation," are used to the same purpose. " He
shall save his people from their sins," Matt. i. 21, is the same with
" By him all that believe are justified from all things, from which
they could not be justified by the law of Moses," Acts xiii. 39. That
of Gal. ii. 16, " We have believed, that we might be justified by the
faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law," is the same with
Acts XV. 11, " But we believe that, through the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Eph. ii. 8, 9, " By
grace are ye saved through faith ; and not of works," is so to be
justified. So it is expressed by pardon, or the " remission of sins,"
which is the effect of it, Rom. iv. 5, 6 ; by " receiving the atonement,"
chap. V. 11 ; not " coming into judgment " or " condemnation," John
V. 24; "blotting out sins and iniquities," Isa. xliii. 25; Ps. Ii. 9;
Isa. xliv. 22; Jer. xviii. 23; Acts iii. 19; "casting them into the
bottom of the sea," Micah vii. 19; and sundry other expressions of
an alike importance. The apostle declaring it by its effects, says,
A/xa/o/ -/.aTaffTaQriGovrat o'l croXXoi' — " Many shall be made righteous,"
Rom. V. 19. AiKaio; xadiffTarai, [he is made righteous] who on a juri-
dical trial in open court, is absolved and declared righteous.
And so it may be observed that all things concerning justification
are proposed in the Scripture under a juridical scheme, or forensic
trial and sentence. As, — (1.) A judgment is supposed in it, concern-
136 ON JUSTIFICATION.
iiig wliich the psalmist prays that it may not proceed on the terms
of the law, Ps. cxliii. 2. (2.) The judge is God himself, Isa 1. 7, 8 ;
Rom. viii. 33. (3.) The tribunal whereon God sits in judgment, is
the "throne of grace/' Heb. iv. 16. "Therefore will the Lord wait,
that he may be gracious unto you ; and therefore will he be exalted,
that he may have mercy upon you ; for the LoED is a God of judg-
ment," Isa. XXX. 18. (4.) A guilty person. This is the sinner, who
is Wljbr/.og rw Qsw, — SO guilty of sin as to be obnoxious to the judgment
of God; Tw bmaiu/jbari rou Qeov, E,om. iii. 19, i. 32, — whose mouth is
stopped by conviction. (5.) Accusers are ready to propose and pro-
mote the charge against the guilty person ; — these are the law, John
V. 45; and conscience, Rom. ii. 15; and Satan also, Zech. iii. 1, Rev.
xii. 10. (6.) The charge is admitted and drawn up in a hand-writ-
ing in form of law, and is laid before the tribunal of the Judge,
in bar, to the deliverance of the offender, Col. ii. 14. (7.) A j^/ea
is prepared in the gospel for the guilty person; and this is grace,
through the blood of Christ, the ransom paid, the atonement made,
the eternal rigliteousness brought in by the surety of the covenant,
Rom. iii. 23-25; Dan. ix. 24; Eph. i. 7- (8.) Hereunto alone the
sinner hetaJces himself] renouncing all other apologies or defensatives
whate^^ei', Ps. cxxx. 2, 3, cxliii. 2 ; Job ix. 2, 3, xlii. 5—7 ; Luke xviii.
13; Rom. iii. 24, 25, v. 11, 16-19, viii. 1-3, 32, 33; Isa. liii. 5, 6;
Heb. ix. 13-15, x. 1-13; 1 Pet. ii. 24; 1 John i. 7. Other plea for
a sinner before God there is none. He who knoweth God and him-
self will not provide or betake himself unto any other. Nor will he,
as I suppose, trust unto any other defence, were he sure of all the
angels in heaven to plead for him. (9.) To make this plea effectual,
Ave have an Advocate with the Father, and he pleads his own propi-
tiation for us, 1 John ii 1, 2. (10.) The sentence hereon is absolu-
tion, on the account of the ransom, blood, or sacrifice and righteous-
ness of Christ ; with acceptation into favour, as persons approved of
God, Job xxxiil 24; Ps. xxxii. 1, 2; Rom. iii. 23-25, viii. 1, 33, 34;
2 Cor. V. 21 ; Gal. iii. 13, 14.
Of what use the declaration of this process in the justification of a
sinner may be, hath been in some measure before declared. And if
many did seriously consider that all these things do concur, and are
required, unto the justification of every one that shall be aaved, it
may be they would not have such slight thoughts of sin, and the way
of deliverance from the guilt of it, as they seem to have. From this
consideration did the apostle learn that " terror of the Lord," which
made him so earnest with men to seek after reconciliation, 2 Cor. v.
10, 11.
I had not so long insisted on the signification of the words in the
Scripture, but that a right understanding of it doth not only exclude
TWOFOLD JUSTIFICATION EXAMINED. 137
the pretences of the Romanists about the infusion of a habit of charity
from being the forinal cause of our justification before God, but may
also give occasion unto some to take advice, into what place or con-
sideration they can dispose their own personal, inherent righteousness
in their justification before him.
CHAPTER V.
The distinction of a first and second justification examined — The continuation of
justification : whereon it doth depend.
Before we inquire immediately into the nature and causes of
justification, there are some things yet previously to be considered,
that we may prevent all ambiguity and misunderstanding about the
subject to be treated of. I say, therefore, that the evangelical justi-
fication, which alone we plead about, is but one, and is at once cotn-
pleted. About any other justification before God but one, we will
not contend with any. Those who can find out another may, as they
please, ascribe what they will unto it, or ascribe it unto what they
will. Let us, therefore, consider what is offered of this nature.
Those of the Roman church do gTound their whole doctrine of
justification upon a distinction of a double justification ; which they
call i\\e first and the second. The first justification, they say, is the
infusion or the communication unto us of an inherent principle or
habit of grace or charity. Hereby, they say, original sin is extin-
guished, and all habits of sin are expelled. This justification they
say is hj faith; the obedience and satisfaction of Christ being the
only meritorious cause thereof Only, they dispute many things
about preparations for it, and dispositions unto it. Under those
terms the Council of Trent included the doctrine of the schoolmen
about "meritum de congTuo," as both Hosius and Andradius confess,
in the defence of that council. And as they are explained, they
come much to one ; however, the council warily avoided the name of
merit with respect unto this their first justification. And the use
of faith herein (which with them is no more but a general assent
unto divine revelation) is to bear the principal part in these prejMi a-
tions. So that to be "justified by faith," according unto them, is to
have the mind prepared by this kind of believing to receive " gra-
tiam gxatum facientem," — a habit of grace, expelling sin and making
us acceptable unto God. For upon this believing, with those other
duties of contrition and repentance which must accompany it, it is
138 ON JUSTIFICATION.
meet and congruous unto divine wisdom, goodness, and faithfulness,
to give us that grace whereby we are justified. And this, according
unto them, is that justification whereof the apostle Paul treats in his
epistles, from the procurement whereof he excludes all the works of
the law. The second justification is an effect or consequent hereof;
and the proper formal cause thereof is good works, proceeding from
this principle of grace and love. Hence are they the righteousness
wherewith believers are righteous before God, whereby they merit
eternal life. The righteousness of works they call it; and suppose it
taught by the apostle James. This they constantly affirm to make
us "justos ex injustis;" wherein they are followed by others. For
this is the way that most of them take to salve the seeming repug-
nancy between the apostles Paul and James. Paul, they say, treats
of the fif^st justification only, whence he excludes all works ; for it is
by faith, in the manner before described : but James treats of the
second justification ; which is by good works. So Bellar., lib. ii. cap.
16, and lib. iv. cap. 18. And it is the express determination of those
at Trent, sess. vi. cap. 10. This distinction was coined unto no other
end but to bring in confusion into the whole doctrine of the gospel.
Justification through the free grace of God, by faith in the blood of
Christ, is evacuated by it. Sanctification is turned into a justification,
and corrupted by making the fruits of it 'meritorious. The whole
nature of evangelical justification, consisting in the gratuitous pardon
of sin and the imputation of righteousness, as the apostle expressly
affirms, and the declaration of a believing sinner to be righteous
thereon, as the word alone signifies, is utterly defeated by it.
Howbeit others have embraced this distinction also, though not
ahsolutely in their sense. So do the Socinians. Yea, it must be
allowed, in some sense, by all that hold our inherent righteousness
to be the cause of, or to have any influence into, our justification be-
fore God. For they do allow of a justification which in order of
nature is antecedent unto works truly gracious and evangelical : but
consequential unto such works there is a justification differing at
least in degree, if not in nature and kind, upon the difference of its
formal cause; which is our new obedience from the former. But
they mostly say it is only the continuation of our justification, and
the increase of it as to degrees, that they intend by it. And if they
may be allowed to turn sanctification into justification, and to make
a progress therein, or an increase thereof, either in the root or fruit,
to be a new justification, they may make twenty justifications as well
as two, for aught I know : for therein the " inward man is renewed
day by day," 2 Cor. iv. 16; and believers go " fi-om strength to
strength," are " changed from glory to glory," 2 Cor. iii. 1 8, by the
addition of one grace unto another in their exercise, 2 Pet. i. 5-8,
TWOFOLD JUSTIFICATION EXAMINED. ] 39
and " increasicg with the increase of God," Col. ii. 19, do in all things
" grow up into him who is the head," Eph. iv. 15. And if their justi-
fication consist herein, they are justified anew every day. I shall
therefore do these two things: — 1. Show that this distinction is both
unscriptural and irrational. 2. Declare what is the continuation
of our justification, and whereon it doth depend.
1. Justification by faith in the blood of Christ may be considered
either as to the nature and essence of it, or as unto its manifestation
and declaration. The manifestation of it is twofold: — First, Initial,
in this life. Second, Solemn and complete, at the day of judgment;
whereof we shall treat afterward. The manifestation of it in this life
respects either the souls and consciences of them that are justified,
or others; that is, the church or the world. And each of these have
the name of justification assigned unto them, though our real justi-
fication before God be always one and the same. But a man may
be really justified before God, and yet not have the evidence or assur-
ance of it in his own mind; wherefore that evidence or assurance
is not of the nature or essence of that faith whereby we are justified,
nor doth necessarily accompany our justification. But this manifes-
tation of a man's own justification unto himself, although it depend
on many especial causes, which are not necessary unto his justifica-
tion absolutely before God, is not a second justification when it is
attained ; but only the application of the former unto his conscience
by the Holy Ghost. There is also a manifestation of it with respect
unto others, which in like manner depends on other causes than doth
our justification before God absolutely; yet is it not a second jvsti-
ficatiori: for it depends wholly on the visible effects of that faith
whereby we are justified, as the apostle James instructs us; yet is it
only one single justification before God, evidenced and declared, unto
his glory, the benefit of others, and increase of our own reward.
There is also a twofold justification before God mentioned in the
Scripture. First, "By the works of the law," Rom. ii. 13, x. 5;
Matt. xix. 16-19. Hereunto is required an absolute conformity unto
the whole law of God, in our natures, all the faculties of our souls,
all the principles of our moral operations, with perfect actual obe-
dience unto all its commands, in all instances of duty, both for
matter and manner: for he is cursed who continueth not in all
th ings that are written in the law, to do them ; and he that breaks
any one commandment is guilty of the breach of the whole latu.
Hence the apostle concludes that none can be justified by the law,
because all have sinned. Second, There is a justification by grace,
through faith in the blood of Christ; whereof we treat. And these
ways of justification are contrary, proceeding on terms directly con-
tiTiiiictor}', and cannot be made consistent with or subservient one to
1 40 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the other. But, as we shall manifest afterward, the confounding of
them both, by mixing them together, is that which is aimed at in
this distinction of a first and second justification. But whatever
respects it may have, that justification which Ave have before God, in
his sight through Jesus Christ, is but one, and at once full and com-
plete ; and this distinction is a vain and fond invention. For, —
(1.) As it is explained by the Papists, it is exceedingly derogatory
to the merit of Christ ; for it leaves it no effect towards us, but only
the infusion of a habit of charity. When that is done, all that re-
mains, with respect unto our salvation, is to be "s\TOught by ourselves.
Christ hath only merited the first grace for us, that we therewith
and thereby may merit life eternal. The merit of Christ being con-
fined in its effect unto the first justification, it hath no immediate
influence into any grace, privilege, mercy, or glory that follows there-
on; but they are all effects of that second justification which is purely
by works. But this is openly contrary unto the whole tenor of the
Scripture: for although there be an order of God's appointment,
wherein we are to be made partakers of evangelical privileges in grace
and glory, one before another, yet are they all of them the imme-
diate effects of the death and obedience of Christ; who hath "ob-
tained for us eternal redemption," HeK ix. 12; and is "the author of
eternal salvation unto all that do obey him," chap. v. 9 ; " having
by one offering for ever perfected them that are sanctified." And
those who allow of a secondary, if not of a second, justification, by
our own inherent, personal righteousnesses, are also guilty hereof,
though not in the same degree with them ; for whereas they ascribe
unto it our acquitment from all charge of sin after the first justifica-
tion, and a righteousness accepted in judgment, in the judgment of
God, as if it were complete and perfect, whereon depends our final
absolution and reward, it is evident that the immediate efficacy of
the satisfaction and merit of Christ hath its bounds assigned unto it
in the first justification ; which, Avhether it be taught in the Scrip-
ture or no, we shall afterward inquire.
(2.) More, by this distinction, is ascribed unto ourselves, working
by virtue of inherent grace, as unto the merit and procurement of
spiritual and eternal good, than unto the blood of Christ; for that
only procures the first grace and justification for us. Thereof alone
it is the meritorious cause ; or, as others express it, we are made par-
takers of the effects of it in the pardon of sins past : but, by virtue
of this grace, we do ourselves obtain, procure, or merit, another, a
second, a complete justification, the continuance of the favour of
God, and all the fruits of it, with life eternal and glory. So do our
works, at least, perfect and complete the merit of Christ, without
which it is imperfect. And those who assign the continuation of
TWOFOLD JUSTIFICATION EXAMINED. 1 41
our justification, wherein all the effects of divine favour and grace
are contained, unto our own personal righteousness, as also final justi-
fication before God as the pleadable cause of it, do follow their steps,
unto the best of my understanding. But such things as these may-
be disputed ; in debates of which kind it is incredible almost what
influence on the minds of men, traditions, prejudices, subtilty of in-
vention and arguing, do obtain, to divert them from real thoughts of
the things about which they contend, with respect unto themselves
and their own condition. If by any means such persons can be
called home unto themselves, and find leisui'e to think how and by
what means they shall come to appear before the high God, to be
freed from the sentence of the law, and the curse due to sin, — to have
a pleadable righteousness at the judgment-seat of God befoi-e which
they stand, — especially if a real sense of these things be implanted
on their minds by the convincing power of the Holy Ghost, — all
their subtile arguments and pleas for the mighty efficacy of their own
personal righteousness will sink in their minds like water at the
return of the tide, and leave nothing but mud and defilement be-
hind them.
(3.) This distinction of two justifications, as used and improved
by those of the Roman church, leaves us, indeed, no justification at all.
Something there is, in the branches of it, of sanctification ; but oi jus-
tification nothing at all. Their first justification, in the infusion of
a habit or principle of grace, unto the expulsion of all habits of sin,
is sanctification, and nothing else. And we never did contend that
our justification in such a sense, if any will take it in such a sense,
doth consist in the imputation of the I'ighteousness of Clirist. And
this justification, if any will needs call it so, is capable of degrees,
both of increase in itself and of exercise in its fruits; as was newly
declared. But, not only to call this our justification, with a general
respect unto the notion of the word, as a making of us personally and
inherently righteous, but to plead that this is the justification through
faith in the blood of Christ declared in the Scripture, is to exclude
the only true, evangelical justification from any place in religion. The
second branch of the distinction hath much in it like unto justifica-
tion by t/ie law, but nothing of that which is declared in the gospel.
So that this distinction, instead of coining us two justifications, ac-
cording to the gospel, hath left us none at all. For, —
(4.) There is no countenance given unto this distinction in the
Scripture. There is, indeed, mention therein, as we observed before,
of a double justification, — the one by the law, the other according
unto the gospel ; but that either of these should, on any account,
be sub-distinguished into n first and second of the same kind, — that is,
either according unto the law or the gospel, — there is nothing in the
142 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Scripture to intimate. For this second justification is no way appli-
cable unto what the apostle James discourseth on that subject. He
treats of justification ; but speaks not one word of an increase of it,
or addition unto it, of a first or second. Besides, he speaks expressly
of him that boasts of faith; which being without works, is a dead
faith. But he who hath the first justification, by the confession of
our adversaries, hath a true, living faith, formed and enlivened by
charity. And he useth the same testimony concerning the justifica-
tion of Abraham that Paul doth; and therefore doth not intend
another, but the same, though in a diverse respect. Nor doth any
believer learn the least of it in his own experience ; nor, without a
design to serve a farther turn, would it ever have entered the minds
of sober men on the reading of the Scripture. And it is the bane of
spiritual truth, for men, in the pretended declaration of it, to coin
arhitrary distinctions, ^vithout Scripture ground for them, and ob-
trude them as belonging unto the doctrine they treat of They serve
unto no other end or purpose but only to lead the minds of men
from the substance of what they ought to attend unto, and to engage
all sorts of persons in endless strifes and contentions. If the authors
of this distinction would but go over the places in the Scripture where
mention is made of our justification before God, and make a distri-
bution of them into the respective parts of their distinction, they
would quickly find themselves at an unrelievable loss.
(o.) There is that in the Scripture ascribed unto our first justifi-
cation, if they will needs call it so, as leaves no room for their second
feigned justification; for the sole foundation and pretence of this
distinction is a denial of those things to belong unto our justification
hy the blood of Christ which the Scripture expressly assigns unto it.
Let us take out some instances of what belongs unto the first, and
we shall quickly see how little it is, yea, that there is nothing left for
the pretended second justification. For, — [1.] Therein do we receive
the complete " pardon and forgiveness of our sins," Rom. iv. 6, 7;
Eph. i. 7, iv. 82 ; Acts xxvi. 18. [2.] Thereby are we " made righte-
ous," Rom. V. 19, X. 4; and, [3.] Are freed from condemnation, judg-
ment, and death, John iii. 16, 19, v. 25; Rom. viii. 1 ; [4.] Are
reconciled unto God, Rom. v. 9, 10 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; and, [5.] Have
peace with him, and access into the favour wherein we stand by
grace, with the advantages and consolations that depend thereon
in a sense of his love, Rom. v. 1-5. And, [6.] We have adoption
therewithal, and all its privileges, John i. 12 ; and, in particular,
[7.] A right and title mito the whole inheritance of glory. Acts
xxvi. IS; Rom. viii. 17. And, [8.] Hereon eternal life doth follow,
Rom. viii. 80, vi. 23. Which things will be again immediately spoken
unto upon another occasion. And if there be any thing now left for
THE CONTINUANCE OF JUSTIFICATION. 1 43
their second justification to do, as such, let them take it as their own ;
these things are all of them ours, or do belong unto that one justifi-
cation wnich we do assert. Wherefore it is evident, that either the
Jirst justification overthrows the second, rendering it needless ; or the
second destroys the first, by taking away what essentially belongs
unto it: we must therefore part with the one or the other, for con-
sistent they are not. But that which gives countenance unto the
fiction and artifice of this distinction, and a great many more, is a
dislike of the doctrine of the grace of God, and justification from
thence, by faith in the blood of Christ; which some endeavour hereby
to se7id out of the way upon a pretended sleeveless errand, whilst
they dress up their own righteousness in its robes, "and exalt it into
the room and dignity thereof.
2. But there seems to be more of reality and difficulty in what is
pleaded concerning the continuation of our justification ; for those
that are freely justified are continued in that state until they are
glorified. By justification they are really changed into a new spiri-
tual state and condition, and have a new relation given them unto
God and Christ, unto the law and the gospel. And it is inquired
what it is whereon their continuation in this state doth on their part
depend ; or what is required of them that they may be justified unto
the end. And this, as some say, is not faith alone, but also the ivorks
of sincere obedience. And none can deny but that they are required
of all them that are justified, whilst they continue in a state of justi-
fication on this side glory, which next and immediately ensues there-
unto; but whether, upon our justification at first before God, faith
be immediately dismissed from its place and ofiice, and its work be
given over unto works, so as that the continuation of our justifica-
tion should depend on our own personal obedience, and not on the
renewed application of faith unto Christ and his righteousness, is
worth our inquiry. Only, I desire the reader to observe, that whereas
the necessity of owning a personal obedience in justified persons is
on all hands absolutely agreed, the seeming difference that is herein
concerns not the substance of the doctrine of justification, but the
manner of expressing our conceptions concerning the order of the
disposition of God's grace, and our own duty unto edification ; wherein
I shall use my own hberty, as it is meet others should do theirs.
And I shall offer my thoughts hereunto in the ensuing observa-
tions : —
(1.) Justification is such a work as is at once comjjleted in all the
causes and the whole effect of it, though not as unto the full jDosses-
sion of all that it gives right and title unto. For, — [1.] All our sins,
past, present, and to come, were at once imputed unto and laid upon
Jesus Christ; in what sense we shall afterward inquire. "He was
144? ON JUFTIFICATION,
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes are we
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every
one to his own way : and the Lord hath made to meet on him the
iniquities of us all," Isa. liii. 5, 6. " Who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree," 1 Pet. ii. 24. The assertions being in-
definite, without exception or limitation, are equivalent unto univer-
sals. All our sins were on him, he bare them all at once; and
therefore, once died for all. [2.] He did, therefore, at once " finish
transgression, make an end of sin, make reconciliation for iniquity,
and bring in everlasting righteousness," Dan. ix. 24. At once he
expiated all our sins; for "by himself he purged our sins," and then
" sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," Heb. i. o. And
"we are sanctified," or dedicated unto God, "through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all ; for by one offering he hath perfected"
(consummated, completed, as unto their spiritual state) ''them that are
sanctified," Heb. x. 10, 14. He never will do more than he hath
actually done already, for the exjjiation of all our sins from first
to last; " for there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." I do not say
that hereupon our justification is complete, but only, that the meri-
torious procuring cause of it was at once completed, and is never to
be renewed or repeated any more ; all the inquiry is concerning the
renewed application of it unto our souls and consciences, whether that
be by faith alone, or by the luorhs of righteousness which we do.
[3.] By our actual believing with justifying faith, believing on Christ,
or his name, we do receive him; and thereby, on our first justification,
become the " sons of God," John i. 12; that is, " heirs of God, and
joint heirs with Christ," Rom. viii. 17. Hereby we have a right
unto, and an interest in, all the benefits of his mediation; which is
to be at once completely justified. For " in him we are complete,"
Col. ii. 10; for by the faith that is in him we do "receive the for-
giveness of sins," and a lot or "inheritance among all them that are
sanctified," Acts xxvi. 18; being immediately "justified from all things,
from which we could not be justified by the law," Acts xiii. 8.9;
yea, God thereon " blesseth us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
things in Christ," Eph. i. 3. All these things are absolutely insepar-
able from our first believing in him ; and therefore our justification
is at once complete. In particular, — [4.] On our believing, all our sins
are forgiven. "He hath quickened you together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses," Col. ii. 13-15. For " in him we have re-
demption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according
unto the riches of his grace," Eph. i. 7 ; which one place obviates
all the petulant exceptions of some against the consistency of the free
grace of God in the pardon of sins, and the satisfaction of Christ in
THE CONTINUANCE OF JUSTIFICATION. 14.5
the procurement thereof. [5.] Tliere is hereon nothing to he laid
unto the charge of them that are so justified; for " he that beheveth
hath everlasting Hfe, and shall not come into condemnation, but is
passed from death unto life," John v. 24. And " who shall lay any
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth ; it is
Christ that died," Rom. viii. 33, 34. And " there is no condemnation
unto them that are in Clurist Jesus," verse 1 ; for, " being justified
by faith, we have peace with God," chap. v. 1. And, [6.] We have
that blessedness hereon whereof in this life we are capable, chap,
iv. 5, 6. From all which it appears that our justification is at once
complete. And, [7.] It must be so, or no man can be justified in this
world. For no time can be assigned, nor measure of obedience be
limited, whereon it may be supposed that any one comes to be justi-
fied before God, who is not so on his first believing; for the Scrip-
ture doth nowhere assign any such time or measure. And to say
that no man is com-pletely justified in the sight of God in this life,
is at once to overthrow all that is taught in the Scriptures concerning
justification, and therewithal all peace with God and comfort of be-
lievers. But a man acquitted upon his legal trial is at once dis-
charged of all that the law hath against him.
(2.) Upon this complete justification, believers are obliged unto
universal obedience unto God. The law is not abolished, but estab-
lished, by faith. It is neither abrogated nor dispensed withal by such
an interpretation as should take off its obligation in any thing that
it requires, nor as to the degree and manner wherein it requires it.
Nor is it possible it should be so; for it is nothing but the rule of
that obedience which the nature of God and man makes necessary
from the one to the other. And that is an Antinomianism of the
worst sort, and most derogatory unto the law of God, which affirms
it to be divested of its power to oblige unto perfect obedience, so as
that what is not so shall (as it were in despite of the law) be accepted
as if it were so, unto the end for which the law requires it. There
is no medium, but that either the law is utterly abolished, and so
there is no sin, for where there is no law there is no transgression ; or
it must be allowed to require the same obedience that it did at its
first institution, and unto the same degree. Neither is it in the
power of any man living to keep his conscience from judging and
condemning that, whatever it be, wherein he is convinced that he
comes short of the perfection of the law. Wherefore, —
(3.) The commanding power of the law in positive precepts and
prohibitions, which justified persons are subject unto, doth make and
constitute all then- inconformities unto it to be no less truly and pro-
perly sins in their own nature, than they would be if their persons
were obnoxious unto the curse of it. This they aie not, nor can be;
VOL. V. " 10
146 ON JUSTIFICATION.
for to be obnoxious iiiito the curse of the laiu, and to be justified,
are contradictory; but to be subject to the comif)iands of the law, and
to be justified, are not so. But it is a subjection to tlie commanding
power of the law, and not an obnoxiousness unto the curse of the
law, that constitutes the nature of sin in its transgression. Where-
fore, that complete justification which is at once, though it dissolve
the obligation on the sinner unto punishment by the cu7'se of the law,
yet doth it not annihilate the commanding authority of the law unto
them that are justified, that what is sin in others should not be so
in them. See Rom. viii. 1, 33, 34.
Hence, in the first justification of believing sinners, all yi^^^^re sins
are remitted as unto any actual obligation unto the curse of the law,
unless they should fall into such sins as should, ipso facto, forfeit
their justified estate, and transfer them from the covenant of gi-ace
into the covenant of works; which we believe that God, in his faith-
fulness, will preserve them from. And although sin cannot be ac-
tually pardoned before it be actually committed, yet may the obli-
gation unto the curse of the law be virtually taken away from such
sins in justified persons as are consistent with a justified estate, or
the terms of the covenant of grace, antecedently unto their actual
commission. God at once in this sense " forgiveth all their iniquities,
and healeth all their diseases, redeemeth their life from destruction,
and crowneth them with loving-kindness and tender mercies," Ps. ciii.
8, 4. Future sins are not so pardoned as that, when they are com-
mitted, they should be no sins; which cannot be, unless the com-
manding power of the law be abrogated : but their respect unto the
curse of the law, or their power to oblige the justified person there-
unto, is taken away.
Still there abideth the true nature of sin in every inconformity
unto or transgression of the law in justified persons, which stands in
need of daily actual pardon. For there is " no man that liveth and
sinneth not;" and " if we say that we have no sin, we do but deceive
ourselves." None are more sensible of the guilt of sin, none are more
troubled for it, none are more earnest in supplications for the pardon
of it, than justified persons. For this is the effect of the sacrifice of
Christ applied unto the souls of believers, as the apostle declares,
Heb. X. 1-4, 10, 14, that it doth take away conscience condemning
the sinner for sin, with respect unto the curse of the law; but it
doth not take away conscience condemning sin in the sinner, which,
on all considerations of God and themselves, of the law and the gospel,
requires repentance on the part of the sinner, and actual pardon on
the part of God.
Whereas, therefore, one essential part of justification consisteth in
the pardon of our sins, and sins cannot be actually pardoned be-
THE CONTINUANCE OF JUSTIFICATION. 1 47
fore tliey are actually committed, our present inquiry is, whereon
the continuation of our justification doth depend, notwithstanding
the interveniency of sin after we are justified, whereby such sins are
actually pardoned, and our persons are continued in a state of accep-
tation with God, and have their right unto life and glory uninter-
rupted ? Justification is at once complete in the imputation of a per-
fect righteousness, the grant of a right and title unto the heavenly
inheritance, the actual pardon of all past sins, and the virtual pardon
of future sins ; but how or by what means, on what terms and condi-
tions, this state is continued unto those who are once justified, where-
by their righteousness is everlasting, their title to life and glory in-
defeasible, and all their sins are actually pardoned, is to be inquired.
For answer unto this inquiry I say, — (1.) "It is God that justifieth ;"
and, therefore, the continuation of our justification is his act also.
And this, on his part, depends on the immutability of his counsel;
the unchangeableness of the everlasting covenant, winch is " ordered
in all things, and sure ;" the faithfulness of his promises; the efficacy
of his grace; liis complacency in the propitiation of Christ; with the
power of his intercession, and the irrevocable grant of the Holy
Ghost unto them that do believe : which things are not of our pre-
sent inquiry.
(2.) Some say that, on our part, the continuation of this state of
our justification depends on the condition of good works; that is,
that they are of the same consideration and use with faith itself
herein. In our justification itself there is, they will grant, somewhat
peculiar unto faith ; but as unto the continuation of our justification,
faith and works have the same influence into it; yea, some seem to
ascribe it distinctly unto works in an especial manner, with this only
proviso, that they be done in faith. For my part I cannot under-
stand that the continuation of our justification hath any other depend-
encies than hath our justification itself As faith alone is required
unto the one, so faith alone is required unto the other, although its
operations and effects in the discharge of its duty and office in justifi-
cation, and the continuation of it, are diverse ; nor can it otherwise be.
To clear this assertion two things are to be observed : —
[1.] That the continuation of our justification is the continuation
of the imputation of righteousness and the pardon of sins. I do still
suppose the imputation of righteousness to concur unto our justifica-
tion, although we have not yet examined what righteousness it is
that is imputed. But that God in our justification imputeth riglit-
eousness unto us, is so expressly affirmed by the apostle as that it
must not be called in question. Now the first act of God in the
imputation of righteousness cannot be repeated; and the actual
pardon of sin after justification is an effect and consequent of that
1 48 ON JUSTIFICATION.
imputation of righteousness. If any man sin, there is a propitiation :
" Dehver him, I have found a ransom." Wherefore, unto this actual
pardon there is nothing required but the apphcation of that right-
eousness wliich is the cause of it ; and this is done by faith only.
[2.] The continuation of our justification is before God, or in
the sight of God, no less than our absolute justification is. We speak
not of the sense and evidence of it unto our own souls unto peace
with God, nor of the evidencing and manifestation of it unto others
by its effects, but of the continuance of it in the sight of God. What-
ever, therefore, is the means, condition, or cause hereof, is pleadable
before God, and ought to be pleaded unto that purpose. So, then,
the inquiry is, —
What it is that, when a justified person is guilty of sin (as guilty
he is more or less every day), and his conscience is pressed with a
sense thereof, as that only thing which can endanger or intercept his
justified estate, Jtis favour with God, and title unto glory, he betakes
himself unto, or ought so to do, for the continuance of his state
and pardon of his sins, what he pleadeth unto that purpose, and
what is available thereunto ? That this is not his own obedience,
his personal righteousness, or fulfilling the condition of the new cove-
nant, is evident, from, — 1st. The experience of believers themselves;
2dly. The testimony of Scripture; and, ^dly. The example of them
whose cases are recorded therein: —
1st. Let the experience of them that do believe be inquired into;
for their consciences are continually exercised herein. What is it
that they betake themselves unto, what is it that they plead with
God for the continuance of the pardon of their sins, and the accept-
ance of their persons before him? Is it any thing but sovereign grace
and mercy, through the blood of Christ? Are not all the arguments
which they plead unto this end taken from the topics of the name
of God, his mercy, grace, faithfulness, tender compassion, covenant,
and promises, — all manifested and exercised in and through the
Lord Christ and his mediation alone? Do they not herein place
their only trust and confidence, for this end, that their sins may be
pardoned, and their persons, though every way unworthy in them-
selves, be accepted with God ? Doth any other thought enter into
their hearts? Do they plead their own righteousness, obedience, and
duties to this purpose ? Do they leave the prayer of the publican,
and betake themselves unto that of the Pharisee ? And is it not of
faith alone ? which is that grace whereby they apply themselves unto
the mercy or grace of God through the mediation of Christ. It is
true that faith herein worketh and acteth itself in and by godly
sorrow, repentance, humiliation, self-judging and abhorrency, fer-
vency in prayer and supplications, with an humble waiting for an
THE CONTINUANCE OF JUSTIFICATION. 149
answer of peace from God, with engagements unto renewed obedience :
but it is faith alone that makes apphcations unto grace in the blood
of Christ for the continuation of our justified estate, expressing itself
in those other ways and effects mentioned ; from none of which a
believing soul doth expect the mercy aimed at.
^dly. The Scripture expressly doth declare this to be the only
way of the continuation of our justification, 1 John ii. 1, 2, " These
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and
he is the propitiation for our sins." It is required of those that are
justified that they sin not, — it is their duty not to sin; but yet
it is not so required of them, as that if in any thing they fail of
their duty, they should immediately lose the privilege of their justi-
fication. Wherefore, on a supposition of sin, if any man sin (as
there is no man that liveth and sinneth not), what way is prescribed
for such persons to take, what are they to apply themselves unto
that their sin may be pardoned, and their acceptance with God con-
tinued ; that is, for the continuation of their justification? The course
in this case directed unto by the apostle is none other but the apjilica-
tion of our souls by faith unto the Lord Christ, as our advocate
with the Father, on the account of the propitiation that he hath made
for our sins. Under the consideration of this double act of his
sacerdotal office, his oblation and intercession, he is the object of our
faith in our absolute justification ; and so he is as unto the continua-
tion of it. So our whole progress in our justified estate, in all the
degrees of it, is ascribed unto faith alone.
It is no part of our inquiry, what God requireth of them that are
justified. There is no grace, no duty, for the substance of them, nor
for the manner of their performance, that are required, either by the
law or the gospel, but they are obliged unto them. Where they are
omitted, we acknowledge that the guilt of sin is contracted, and that
attended with such aggTavations as some will not own or allow to be
confessed unto God himself Hence, in particular, the faith and grace
of believers, [who] do constantly and deeply exercise themselves in
godly sorrow, repentance, humiliation for sin, and confession of it be-
fore God, upon their apprehensions of its guilt. And these duties are
so far necessary unto the continuation of our justification, as that a
justified estate cannot consist with the sins and vices that are opposite
unto them ; so the apostle affirms that " if we live after the flesh,
we shall die," Eom. viii. 13. He that doth not carefully avoid fall-
ing into the fu-e or water, or other things immediately destructive of
life natural, cannot live. But these are not the things whereon life
doth depend. Nor have the best of our duties any other respect
imto the continuation of our justification, but only as in them we ai'e
150 ON JUSTIFICATION.
preserved from those things which are contrary unto it, and destmc-
tive of it. But the sole question is, upon what the continuation of
our justification doth depend, not concerning what duties are required
of us in the way of our obedience. If this be that which is intended in
this position, that the continuation of our justification depends on our
own obedience and good works, or that our own obedience and good
works are the condition of the continuation of our justification, —
namely, that God doth indispensably require good works and obedi-
ence in all that are justified, so that a justified estate is inconsistent
with the neglect of them, — it is readily granted, and I shall never con-
tend with any about the way whereby they choose to express the con-
ceptions of their minds. But if it be inquired what it is whereby we
immediately concur in a way of duty unto the continuation of our
justified estate, — that is, the pardon of our sins and acceptance with
God, — we say it is faith alone; for " The just shall live by faith," Rom.
i. 1 7. And as the apostle applies this divine testimony to prove our
jir^st or absolute justification to be by faith alone; so doth he also
apply it unto the continuation of our justification, as that which is
by the same means only, Heb x. 88, 39, " Now the just shall live
by faith : but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. But we are not of them that draw back unto perdition ; but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul." The drawing back
to perdition includes the loss of a justified estate, really so or in pro-
fession. In opposition thereunto the apostle placeth " believing unto
the saving of the soul;" that is, unto the continuation of justification
unto the end. And herein it is that the "just live by faith;" and
the loss of this life can only be by unbelief: so the " life which Ave now
live in the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us,
and gave himself for us," Gal. ii. 20. The life which we now lead in
the flesh is the continuation of our justification, a life of righteousness
and acceptation with God ; in opposition unto a life by the works of
the law, as the next words declare, verse 21, "I do not frustrate the
grace of God ; for if righteousness come by the law, then is Christ
dead in vain." And this life is by faith in Christ, as " he loved us,
and gave himself for us ; " that is, as he was a propitiation for our
sins. This, then, is the only way, means, and cause, on our part, of
the preservation of this life, of the continuance of our justification;
and herein are we " kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation." Again ; if the continuation of our justification dependeth
on our own works of obedience, then is the righteousness of Christ
imputed unto us only with respect unto our justification at first, or
our first justification, as some speak. And this, indeed, is the doc-
trine of the Roman school. They teach that the righteousness of
Christ is so far imputed unto us, that on the account thereof God
THE CONTINUANCE OF JUSTIFICATION. 151
gives unto us justifying grace, and thereby the remission of sin, in their
sense; whence they allow it [to be] the meritorious cause of our justi-
fication. But on a supposition thereof, or the reception of that grace,
we are continued to be justified before God by the works we perform
by virtue of that grace received. And though some of them rise so
high as to afiirm that this grace and the works of it need no farther
respect unto the rigliteousness of Christ, to deserve our second justi-
fication and life eternal^ as doth Vasquez expressly, in 1, 2, q. 114,
disp. 222, cap. 3; yet many of them affirm that it is still from the
consideration of the merit of Christ that they are so meritorious.
And the same, for the substance of it, is the judgment of some of
them who afiirm the continuation of our justification to depend on
our own works, setting aside that ambiguous term of merit; for it
is on the account of the righteousness of Christ, they say, that our
own works, or imperfect obedience, is so accepted with God, as that
the continuation of our justification depends thereon. But the apostle
gives us another account hereof, Rom. v. 1-3; for he distinguisheth
three things: — 1. Our access into the grace of God. 2. Our standirig
in that grace. 3. Our glorying in that station against all opposition.
By the first he expresseth ovir absolute justification ; by the second,
our continuation in the state whereinto we are admitted thereby ;
and by the third, the assurance of that continuation, notwithstand-
ing all the oppositions we meet withal. And all these he ascribeth
equally unto faith, without the intermixture of any other cause or
condition; and other places express to the same purpose might be
pleaded.
odly. The examples of them that did believe, and were justified,
which are recorded in the Scripture, do all bear witness unto the
same truth. The continuation of the justification of Abraham before
God is declared to have been by faith only, Rom. iv. 3; for the
instance of his justification, given by the apostle from Gen. xv. 6, was
long after he was justified absolutely. And if our first justification,
and the contmuation of it, did not depend absolutely on the same
cause, the instance of the one could not be produced for a proof of
the way and means of the other, as here they are. And David, when
a justified believer, not only placeth the blessedness of man in the
free remission of sins, in opposition unto his own works in general,
Rom. iv. 6, 7, but, in his own particular case, ascribeth the continua-
tion of his justification and acceptation before God unto grace,
mercy, diudi forgiveness alone; which are no otherwise received but
by faith, Ps. cxxx. 3-5, cxliii. 2. All other works and duties of obe-
dience do accompany faith in the continuation of our justified estate,
as necessary effects and fruits of it, but not as causes, means, or condi-
tions, whereon that effect is suspended. It is patient waiting hy
] 52 ON JUSTIFICATION.
faith that brings in the full accomplishment of the promises, Heb.
vi. 12, 15. Wherefore, there is but one justification, and that of
one kind only, wherein we are concerned in this disputation, — the
Scripture makes mention of no more ; and that is the justification of
an ungodly person by faith. Nor shall we admit of the considera-
tion of any other. For if there be a second justification, it must be
of the same kind with the first, or of another; — if it be of the same
kind, then the same person is often justified with the same kind of
justification, or at least more than once ; and so on just reason ought
to be often baptized ; — if it be not of the same kind, then the same
person is justified before God with two sorts of justification; of both
which the Scripture is utterly silent. And [so] the continuation of our
justification depends solely on the same causes with our justification
itself.
CHAPTER VI.
Evangelical personal righteousness, the nature and use of it — Final judgment,
and its respect unto justification.
The things which we have discoursed concerning the fii^st and
second justification, and concerning the continuation of justification,
have no other design but only to clear the principal subject whereof
we treat from what doth not necessarily belong unto it. For until
all things that are either really heterogeneous or otherwise superfluous
are separated from it, we cannot understand aright the true state of
the question about the nature and causes of our justification before
God. For we intend one justification only, — namely, that whereby
God at once freely by his grace justifieth a convinced sinner through
faith in the blood of Christ. Whatever else any will be pleased to
call justification, we are not concerned in it, nor are the consciences
of them that believe. To the same purpose we must, therefore, briefly
also consider what is usually disputed about our own personal right-
eousness, with a justification thereon; as also what is called sentential
justification at the day of judgment. And I shall treat no farther
of them in this place, but only as it is necessary to free the principal
subject under consideration from being intermixed with them, as
really it is not concerned in them. For what influence our own
2)ersonal righteousness hath into our justification before God will be
afterward particularly examined. Here we shall only consider such
a notion of it as seems to interfere with it, and disturb the right un-
derstanding of it. But yet I say concerning this also, that it rather
EVANGELICAL PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 153
belongs unto the difference that will be among ns in the expression
of our conceptions about spiritual things whilst we know but in part,
than unto the substance of the doctrine itself And on such differ-
ences no breach of charity can ensue, whilst there is a mutual grant
of that liberty of mind without which it will not be preserved one
moment.
It is, therefore, by some apprehended that there is an evangelical
justification upon our evangelical personal righteousness. This they
distinguish from that justification which is by faith through the im-
putation of the righteousness of Christ, in the sense wherein they do
allow it; for the righteousness of Christ is our legal righteousness,
whereby we have pardon of sin, and acquitment from the sentence
of the law, on the account of his satisfaction and merit. But, more-
over, they say that as there is a personal, inherent righteousness re-
quhed of us, so there is a justification by the gospel thereon. For
by our faith, and the plea of it, we are justified from the charge of
unbelief; by our sincerity, and the plea of it, we are justified from
the charge of hypocrisy ; and so by all other graces and duties from
the charge of the contrary sins in commission or omission, so far as
such sins are inconsistent with the terms of the covenant of grace.
How this differeth from the second justification before God, which
some say we have by works, on the supposition of the pardon of sin
for the satisfaction of Christ, and the infusion of a habit of grace en-
abling us to perform those works, is declared by those who so express
themselves.
Some add, that this inherent, personal, evangelical righteousness,
is the condition on our part of our legal righteousness, or of the im-
putation of the righteousness of Christ unto our justification, or the
pardon of sin. And those by whom the satisfaction and merit of
Christ are denied, make it the only and whole condition of our ab-
solute justification before God. So speak all the Socinians constantly ;
for they deny our obedience unto Christ to be either the meritorious or
efficient cause of our justification; only they say it is the condition of
it, without wdiich God hath decreed that we shall not be made par-
takers of the benefit thereof So doth Socinus himself, De Justificat.
p. 17, " Sunt opera nostra, id est, ut dictum fait, obedientia quam
Christo pra?stamus, licet nee efficieus nee meritoria, tamen causa est
(ut vocant) sine qua non, justificationis coram Deo, atque seternjB
nostrge." Again, p. 14, inter Opuscul, " Ut cavendum est ne vitse
sanctitatem atque innocentiam effectum justificationis nostrce coram
Deo esse credamus, neque illam nostrre coram Deo justificationis
causam efficientem aut impulsivam esse affirmemus; sed tantummodo
causam sine qua earn justification em nobis non contingere decrevit
Deus." And in all their discourses to this purpose they assert Our
lOtt ON JUSTIFICATION.
personal righteousness and holiness, or our obedience unto the com-
mands of Christ, which they make to be the form and essence of
faith, to be the condition whereon we obtain justification, or the
remission of sins. And indeed, considering what their opinion is con-
cerning the person of Christ, with their denial of his satisfaction and
merit, it is impossible they should frame any other idea of justifica-
tion in their minds. But what some among ourselves intend by a
compliance with them herein, who are not necessitated thereunto by
a prepossession with their opinions about the person and mediation
of Christ, I know not. For as for them, all their notions about grace,
conversion to God, justification, and the like articles of our religion,
they are nothing but what they are necessarily cast upon by their
hypothesis about the person of Christ.
At present I shall only inquire into that peculiar evangelical jus-
tification which is asserted to be the effect of our own 'personal
righteousness, or to be granted us thereon. And hereunto we may
observe, —
1. That God doth require in and by the gospel a sincere obedience
of all that do believe, to be performed in and by their own persons,
though through the aids of grace supplied unto them by Jesus Christ.
He requireth, indeed, obedience, duties, and works of righteousness,
in and of all persons whatever ; but the consideration of them which
are performed before believing is excluded by all from any causality
or interest in our justification before God : at least, whatever any
may discourse of the necessity of such works in a way of preparation
unto believing (whereunto we have spoken before), none bring them
into the verge of works evangelical, or obedience of faith; which
would imply a contradiction. But that the works inquired after are
necessary unto all believers, is granted by all; on what grounds,
and unto what ends, we shall inquire afterward. They are declared,
Eph. ii. 10.
2. It is likewise granted that believers, from the performance of
this obedience, or these works of righteousness, are denominated
righteous in the Scripture, and are personally and internally right-
eous, Luke i. 6 ; ] John iii. 7. But yet this denomination is nowhere
given unto them with respect unto grace habitually inherent, but
unto the effects of it in duties of obedience ; as in the places mentioned :
" They were both righteous before God, walking in all the command-
ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless ;" — the latter words give
the reason of the former, or their being esteemed righteous before
God. And, " He that doeth righteousness is righteous;" — the deno-
mination is from doing. And Bellarmine, endeavouring to prove
that it is habitual, not actual righteousness, which is, as he speaks,
i\\e formal cause of our justification before God, could not produce
EVANGELICAL PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 155
one testimony of Scripture wherein any one is denominated righteous
from habitual righteousness (De Justificat., hb. ii. cap. 15); but is
forced to attempt the proof of it with tliis absurd argument, — namely,
that " we are justified by the sacraments, which do not work in us
actual, but habitual righteousness." And this is sufficient to discover
the insufficiency of a pretence for any interest of our own righteous-
ness from this denomination of being righteous thereby, seeing it
hath not respect unto that which is the principal part thereof
8. This inherent righteousness, taking it for that which is habitual
and actual, is the same with our sanctijication ; neither is there any
difference between them, only they are diverse names of the same
thing. For our sanctification is the inherent renovation of our na-
tures exerting and acting itself in newness of life, or obedience unto
God in Christ and works of righteousness. But sanctification and
justification are in the Scripture perpetually distinguished, whatever
respect of causality the one of them may have unto the other. And
those who do confound them, as the Papists do, do not so much dis-
pute about the nature of justification, as endeavour to prove that
indeed there is no such thing as justification at all; for that which
would serve most to enforce it, — namely, the pardon of sin, — they place
in the exclusion and extinction of it, by the infusion of inherent
grace, which doth not belong unto justification.
4. By this inherent, personal righteousness we may be said several
ways to be justified. As, — (1.) In our own consciences, inasmuch as
it is an evidence in us and unto us of our participation of the grace
of God in Christ Jesus, and of our acceptance with him ; which hath
no small influence into our peace. So speaks the apostle, " Our re-
joicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God,
we have had our conversation in the world," 2 Cor. i. 1 2 : who yet
disclaims any confidence therein as unto his justification before God ;
for saith he, " Although I know nothing by myself, yet am I not
hereby justified," 1 Cor. iv. 4. (2.) Hereby may we be said to be
justified before men; that is, acquitted of evils laid unto our charge,
and approved as righteous and unblamable ; for the state of things is
so in the world, as that the professors of the gospel ever were, and
ever will be, evil spoken of, as evil doers. The rule given them to
acquit themselves, so as that at length they may be acquitted and
justified by all that are not absolutely blinded and hardened in
wickedness, is that of a holy and fruitful walking, in abounding in
good works, 1 Pet. ii. 12, iii. ]6. And so is it with respect unto the
church, that we be not judged dead, barren professors, but such as
have been made partakers of the like precious faith with others:
" Show me thy faith by thy works," James ii. Wherefore, (3.) This
156 ON JUSTIFICATION.
righteousness is pleadable unto our justification against all the charges
of Satan, who is the great accuser of the brethren, — of all that believe.
Whether he manage his charge privately in our consciences (which is
as it were before God), as he charged Job; or by his instruments, in
all manner of reproaches and calumnies (whereof some in this age
have had experience in an eminent manner), this righteousness is
pleadable unto our justification.
On a supposition of these things, wherein our personal righteous-
ness is allowed its proper place and use (as shall afterward be more
fully declared), I do not understand that there is an evangelical jus-
tification whereby behevers are, by and on the account of this per-
sonal, inherent righteousness, justified in the sight of God; nor doth
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto our absolute jus-
tification before him depend thereon. For, —
1. None have this 2') ersonal righteousness but they are antecedently
justified in the sight of God. It is wholly the obedience of faith,
proceeding from true and saving faith in God by Jesus Christ: for,
as it was said before, works before faith, are, as by general consent,
excluded from any interest in our justification, and we have proved
that they are neither conditions of it, dispositions unto it, nor pre-
parations for it, properly so called ; but every true believer is imme-
diatel}^ justified on his believing. Nor is there any moment of time
wherein a man is a true believer, according as faith is required in
the gospel, and yet not justified ; for as he is thereby united unto
Christ, which is the foundation of our justification by him, so the
whole Scripture testifieth that he that believes is justified, or that
there is an infallible connection in the ordination of God between
true faith and justification. Wherefore this personal onghteousness
cannot be the condition of our justification before God, seeing it is
consequential thereunto. What may be pleaded in exception here-
unto from the supposition of a second justification, or differing causes
of the beginning and continuation of justification, hath been already
disproved,
2. Justification before God is a freedom and absolution from a
charge before God, at least it is contained therein ; and the instru-
ment of this charge must either be the laio or the gospel. But
neither the law nor the gospel do before God, or in the sight of God,
charge true believers with unbelief, hypocrisy, or the like ; for " who
shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect," who are once justi-
fied before him? Such a charge may be laid against them by Satan,
by the church sometimes on mistake, by the world, as it was in the
case of Job; against which this righteousness is pleadable. But what
is charged immediately before God is charged by God himself, either
by the law or the gospel; and the judgment of God is according unto
EVANGELICAL PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 157
truth. If this charge be by the law, by the law we must be justified.
But the plea of sincere obedience will not justify us by the law.
That admits of none in satisfaction unto its demands but that which
is complete and perfect. And where the gospel lays any thing unto
the charge of any persons before God, there can be no justification
before God, unless we shall allow the gospel to be the instrument of
a false charge; for what should justify him whom the gospel con-
demns? And if it be a justification by the gospel from the charge
of the law, it renders the death of Christ of no effect; and a justifi-
cation without a charge is not to be supposed.
3. Such a justification as that pretended is altogether needless and
useless. This may easily be evinced from what the Scripture asserts
unto our justification in the sight of God by faith in the blood of
Christ; but this hath been spoken to before on another occasion.
Let that be considered, and it will quickly appear that there is no
place nor use for this new justification upon our personal righteous-
ness, -whether it be supposed antecedent and subordinate thereunto,
or consequential and perfective thereof.
4. This pretended evangelical justification hath not the nature of
any justification that is mentioned in the Scripture, — that is, neither
that by the law, nor that provided in the gospel. Justification by
the law is this, — The man that doth the works of it shall live in tliem.
This it doth not pretend unto. And as unto evangelical justification,
it is every way contrary unto it. For therein the charge against the
person to be justified is true,— namely, that he hath sinned, and is come
short of the glory of God; [but] in this it in false, — namely, that a
believer is an unbeliever ; a sincere person, an hypocrite ; one fruit-
ful in good luorks, altogether ban^en : and this false charge is sup-
posed to be exhibited in the name of God, and before him. Our
acquitment, in true, evangelical justification, is by absolution or par
don of sin; here, hy 2l vindication of our own righteousness. There,
the plea of the person to be justified is, Guilty; all the world is be-
come guilty before God : but here, the plea of the person on his trial
is. Not guilty, Avhereon the proofs and evidences of innocency and
righteousness do ensue; but this is a plea which the law will not
admit, and which the gospel disclaims.
5. If we are justified before God on our own personal righteous-
ness, and pronounced righteous by him on the account thereof, then
God enters into judgment witli us on something in ourselves, and
acquits us thereon; for justification is o, juridical act, in and of that
judgment of God which is according unto truth. But that God
should enter into judgment with us, and justify us with respect unto
what he judgeth on, or our personal righteousness, the psalmist doth
not believe, Ps. cxxx. 2, 3, cxliii. 2 ; nor did the publican, Luke xviii.
I^jS on justification.
6. This personal rigliteousness of ours cannot be said to be a sub-
ordinate righteousness, and subservient unto our justification by faith
in the blood of Christ : for therein God justifieth the iingodly, and
imputeth righteousness unto him that worketh not; and, besides, it
is expressly excluded from any consideration in our justification, Eph.
ii. 7, 8.
7. 1\\\s personal, inherent righteousness, wherewith we are said to
be justified with this evangelical justification, is our oiun righteous-
ness. Personal righteousness, and our own righteousness, are expres-
sions equivalent ; but our own righteousness is not the material cause
of any justification before God. For, — (1.) It is unmeet so to be, Isa.
Ixiv. 6. (2.) It is directly opposed imto that righteousness whereby
we are justified, as inconsistent with it unto that end, Phil. iii. 9;
Rom. X. 3, 4.
It will be said that our own righteousness is the rigliteousness of
the laiv, but this personal righteousness is evangelical. But, — (1.)
It will be hard to prove that our personal righteousness is any other
but our own righteousness; and our oiun righteousness is expressly
rejected from any interest in our justification m the places quoted.
(2.) That righteousness which is evangelical in respect of its efficient
cause, its motives, and some especial ends, is legal in respect of the for-
mal reason of it and our obligation unto it ; for there is no instance of
duty belonging unto it, but, in general, we are obliged unto its per-
formance by virtue of the first commandment, to " take the Lord for
our God." Acknowledging therein his essential verity and sovereign
authority, we are obliged to believe all that he shall reveal, and to
obey in all that he shall command. (3.) The good luorks rejected
from any interest in our justification, are those whereunto we are
" created in Christ Jesus," Eph. ii. 8-10; the "works of righteous-
ness which we have done," Tit. iii. 5, wherein the Gentiles are coq-
cerned, who never sought for righteousness by the works of the law,
Rom. ix. 30. But it will yet be said, that these things are evident
in themselves. God doth require an evangelical righteousness in all
that do Toelieve; this Christ is not, nor is it the righteousness of
Christ. He may be said to be our legal righteousness, but our evan-
gelical righteousness he is not; and, so far as we are righteous with
any righteousness, so far we are justified by it. For according unto
this evangelical righteousness we must be tried ; if we have it we shall
be acquitted, and if we have it not Ave shall be condemned. There
is, therefore, a justification according unto it.
I answer, — 1. According to some authors or maintainors of this
opinion, I see not but that the Lord Christ is as much our evangeli-
cal righteousness as he is our legal. For our legal righteousness he
is not, in their judgment, by a proper imputation of his righteous-
EVANGELICAL PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 159
ness unto us, but by the communicatiofi of the fruits of what he did
and suffered for us. And so he is our evangelical righteousness also ;
for our sanctification is an effect or fruit of what he did and suffered
for us, Eph. V. 26, 27; Tit. ii. 14.
2. None have this evangelical righteousness but those who are, in
order of nature at least, justified before they actually have it ; for it
is that which is required of all that do believe, and are justified
thereon. And we need not much inquire how a man is justified
after he is justified.
8. God hath not appointed this personal righteousness in order
unto our justification before him in this life, though he have appointed
it to evidence our justification before others, and even in his sight ;
as shall be declared. He accepts of it, approves of it, upon the
account of the free justification of the person in and by whom it is
wrought : so he had " respect unto Abel and his offering." But we
are not acquitted by it from any real charge in the sight of God,
nor do receive remission of sins on the account of it. And those
who place the whole of justification in the remission of sins, making
this personal righteousness the condition of it, as the Socinians do,
leave not any place for the righteousness of Christ in our justifi-
cation.
4. If we are in any sense justified hereby in the sight of God, we
have whereof to boast before him. We may not have so absolutely,
and -with respect unto merit ; yet we have so com^^aratively, and in
respect of others who cannot make the same plea for their justifi-
cation. But all boasting is excluded ; and it will not relieve, to say
that this personal righteousness is of the free grace and gift of God
unto some, and not unto others ; for Ave must plead it as our duty,
and not as God's grace.
5. Suppose a person freely justified by the grace of God, through
faith in the blood of Christ, without respect unto any works, obedi-
ence, or righteousness of his own, we do freely grant, — (1.) That God
doth indispensably require ji&f^sonal obedience of him ; which may
be called his evangelical righteousness. (2.) That God doth approve
of and accept, in Christ, this righteousness so performed. (3.) That
hereby that faith whereby we are justified is evidenced, proved, mani-
fested, in the sight of God and men. (4.) Tha.t this righteousness
is pleadable unto an acquitment against any charge from Satan, the
world, or our otun consciences. (5.) That upon it we shall be de-
clared righteoiis at the last day, and without it none shall so be.
And if any shall think meet from hence to conclude unto an evan-
gelical justification, or call God's acceptance of our rigliteousness by
that name, I shall by no means contend Avith them. And Avherever this
inquiry is made, — not hoAv a sinner, guilty of death, and obnoxious
160 ON JUSTIFICATION.
unto the curse, shall be pardoned, acquitted, and justified, which is
by the righteousness of Christ alone imputed unto him — but how a
man that professeth evangelical faith, or faith in Christ, shall be
tried, judged, and whereon, as such, he shall be justified, we grant
that it is, and must be, by his own personal, sincere obedience.
And these things are spoken, not with a design to contend with
any, or to oppose the opinions of any ; but only to remove from the
principal question in hand those things which do not belong unto it.
A very few words will also free our inquiry from any concernment
in that which is called sentential justification, at the day of judg-
ment ; for of what nature soever it be, the person concerning whom
that sentence is pronounced was, — (1.) Actually and comjjletely jxisti-
fied before God in this world ; (2.) Made jMi^taker of all the bene-
fits of that justification, even unto a blessed resurrection in glory :
" It is raised in glory," 1 Cor. xv. 43. (3.) The souls of the most will
long before have enjoyed a blessed rest with God, absolutely dis-
charged and acquitted from all their labours and all their sins ; there
remains nothing but an actual admission of the whole person into
eternal glory. Wherefore this judgment can be no more but declara-
tory, unto the glory of God, and the everlasting refreshment of them
that have believed. And without reducing of it unto a new justifi-
cation, as it is nowhere called in the Scripture, the ends of that
solemn judgment, — in the manifestation of the wisdom and righteous-
ness of God, in appointing the way of salvation by Christ, as well as
in giving of the law ; the public conviction of them by whom the
law hath been transgressed and the gospel despised ; the vindication
of the righteousness, power, and wisdom of God in the rule of the
world by his providence, wherein, for the most part, his paths unto
all in this life are in the deep, and his footsteps are not known ; the
glory and honour of Jesus Christ, triumphing over all his enemies,
then fully made his footstool; and the glorious exaltation of grace in
all that do beheve, with sundry other things of an alike tendency unto
the ultimate manifestation of divine glory in the creation and guid-
ance of all things, — are sufficiently manifest.
And hence it appears how little force there is in that argument
which some pretend to be of so great weight in this cause. "As every
one," they say, " shall he judged of God at the last day, in the same
way and manner, or on the same grounds, is he justified of God in
this life ; hut by tvorks, and not by faith alone, every one shall he
judged at the last day: wherefore by works, and not by faith alone,
every one is justified before God in this life." For, —
1. It is nowhere said that we shall be judged at the last day " ex
operibus;" but only that God will render unto men "secundum
opera." But God doth not justify any in this life " secundum opera;"
EVANGELICAL PERSONAL RTGHTEOUSNESS. 1 61
being justified freely by bis grace, and not according to the works of
righteousness which we have done. And we are everywhere said to
be justified in this Hfe " ex fide," " per fidem," but nowhere " propter
fidem;" or, that God justifieth us "secundum fidem," by faith, but
not /or our faith, nor according unto our faith. And we are not to
depart from the expressions of the Scripture, where such a difference
is constantly observed.
2. It is somewhat strange that a man should be judged at the last
day, and justified in this life, just in the same way and ona^iner, —
that is, with respect unto faith and works, — when the Scripture doth
constantly ascribe our justification before God unto faith without
works; and the judgment at the last day is said to be according unto
works, without any mention of faith.
3. li justification and eternal judgment proceed absolutely on the
same grounds, reasons, and causes, then if men had not done what
they shall be condemned for doing at the last day, they should have
been justified in this hfe; but many shall be condemned only for
sins against the light of nature, Rom. ii. 12, as never having the
written law or gospel made known unto them: wherefore imto such
persons, to abstain from sins against the light of nature would be
suiScient unto their justification, without any knowledge of Christ or
the gospel.
4. This proposition, — tJuU God jMrdons men their sins, gives them
the adojition of children, with a riglit unto the heavenly inheritance,
according to their works, — is not only foreign to the gospel, but con-
tradictory unto it, and destructive of it, as contrary unto all express
testimonies of the Scripture, both in the Old Testament and the New,
where these things are spoken of; but that God judgeth all men,
and rendereth unto all men, at the last judgment, according unto
their works, is true, and affirmed in the Scripture.
5. In our justification in this life by faith, Christ is considered as
our propitiation and advocate, as he who hath made atonement for
sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness; but at the last day,
and in the last judgment, he is considered only as the judge.
6. The end of God in our justification is the glory of his grace,
Eph. i. 6; but the end of God in the last judgment is the glory of
his remunerative righteousness, 2 Tim. iv. 8.
7. The representation that is made of the final judgment. Matt.
vii. and xxv., is only of the visible church. And therein the plea of
faith, as to the profession of it, is common unto all, and is equally
made by all. Upon that plea of faith, it is put unto the trial whether
it were sincere, true faith or no, or only that which was dead and
barren. And this trial is made solely by the fruits and effects of it;
and othenvise, in tlie public declaration of things unto all, it cannot
VOL. V. 11
162 ON JUSTIFICATION.
be made. Otherwise, the faith whereby we are justified comes not
into judgment at the last day. See John v. 24, with Mark xvi. 16.
CHAPTER VII.
Imputation, and the nature of it ; with the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ in particular.
The first express record of the justification of any sinner is of Abra-
ham. Others were justified before him from the beginning, and there
is that affirmed of them which sufficiently evidenceth them so to
have been ; but this j^^^'^'ogative was reserved for the father of the
faithful, that his justification, and the express way and manner of it,
should be first entered on the sacred record. So it is, Gen. xv. 6,
" He believed in the Lord, and it was counted unto him for right-
eousness." O^'^'n*!^ — it was " accounted" unto him, or "imputed" unto
him, for righteousness. 'EXoylgdri, — it was " counted, reckoned, im-
puted." And " it was not written for his sake alone that it was im-
puted unto him, but for us also, unto whom it shall be imputed if we
believe," Rom. iv. 23, 24. Wherefore, the first express declaration of
the nature of justification in the Scripture affirms it to be by imputa-
tion,— the imputation of somewhat unto righteousness ; and this [is]
done in that place and instance which is recorded on purpose, as th,.-
precedent and example of all those that shall be justified. As he
was justified so are we, and no otherwise.
Under the New Testament there was a necessity of a more full
and clear declaration of the doctrine of it; for it is among the first
and most principal parts of that heavenly mystery of truth which was
to be brought to light by the gospel. And, besides, there was from
the first a strong and dangerous opposition made unto it; for this
matter of justification, the doctrine of it, and what necessarily belongs
thereunto, was that whereon the Jewish church broke off from God,
refused Christ and the gospel, perishing in their sins ; as is expressly
declared,''Rom. ix. 31, x. 3, 4. And, in like manner, a dislike of it,
an opposition unto it, ever was, and ever will be, a principle and cause
of the apostasy of any professing church from Christ and the gospel
that falls under the power and deceit of them ; as it fell out after-
ward in the churches of the Galatians. But in this state the doctrine
of justification was fully declared, stated, and vindicated, by the
apostle Paul, in a peculiar manner. And he doth it especially by
affirming and proving that we have the righteousness whereby and
IMPUTATION, AND THE NATURE OF IT. 163
wherewith we are justified by imputation; or, that our justification
consists in the non-imputation of sin, and the imputation of righte-
ousness.
But yet, although ihid first-recorded instance of justification, — and
which was so recorded that it might be an example, and represent
the justification of all that should be justified unto the end of the
world, — is expressed by im,putation and righteousness imputed, and
the doctrine of it, in that great case wherein the eternal welfare of
the church of the Jews, or their ruin, was concerned, is so expressed
by the apostle; yet is it so fallen out in our days, that nothing in re-
ligion is more maligned, more reproached, more despised, than the im-
putation of righteousness unto us, or an imputed righteousness. " A
putative righteousness, the shadow of a dream, a fancy, a mummery,
an imagination," say some among us. An opinion, " foeda, execranda,
pernitiosa, detestanda," saith Socinus. And opposition ariseth unto
it every day from great variety of pi'inciples; for those by whom it
is opposed and rejected can by no means agree what to set up in the
place of it.
However, the weight and importance of this doctrine is on all
hands acknowledged, whether it be true or false. It is not a dis-
pute about notions, terms, and speculations, wherein Christian prac-
tice is little or not at all concerned (of which nature many are need-
lessly contended about) ; but such as hath an immediate influence
into our whole present duty, with our eternal 'welfare or ruin. Those
by whom this imputation of righteousness is rejected, do affirm that
the faith and doctrine of it do overthrow the necessity of gospel
obedience, of personal righteousness and good works, bringing in an-
tinomianism and libertinism in life. Hereon it must, of necessity,
be destructive of salvation in those who believe it, and conform their
practice thereunto. And those, on the other hand, by whom it is
believed, seeing they judge it impossible that any man should be
justified before God any other way but by the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ, do, accordingly, judge that without it none
can be saved. Hence a learned man of late concludes his discourse
concerning it, " Hactenus de imputatione justitias Christi ; sine qua
nemo unquam aut salvatus est, aut salvari queat," Justificat. Paulin.
cap. viii. ; — " Thus far of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ ;
without which no man was ever saved, nor can any so be." They do
not think nor judge that all those are excluded from salvation who
cannot apprehend, or do deny, the doctrine of the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ, as by them declared ; but they judge that they
are so unto whom that righteousness is not really imputed: nor can
they do otherwise, whilst they make it the foundation of all their own
acceptation with God and eternal salvation. These things greatly dif-
164 ON JUSTIFICATION.
fer. To believe the doctrine of it, or not to believe it, as thus or thus
explained, is one thing ; and to enjoy the thing, or not enjoy it, is an-
other. I no way doubt but that many men do receive more gi'ace from
God than they understand or will own, and have a greater efficacy of
it in them than they will believe. Men may be really saved by that
grace which doctrinally they do deny; and they may be justified by
the imputation of that righteousness which, in opinion, they deny to
be imputed: for the faith of it is included in that general assent
which they give unto the truth of the gospel, and such an adherence
unto Christ may ensue thereon, as that their mistake of the way
whereby they are saved by him shall not defraud them of a real in-
terest therein. And for my part, I must say, that notwithstanding
all the disputes that I see and read about justification (some whereof
are full of offence and scandal), I do not believe but that the authors
of them (if they be not Socinians throughout, denying the whole merit
and satisfaction ol Christ) do really trust unto the mediation of
Christ for the pardon of their sins and acceptance with God, and not
unto their own works or obedience ; nor will I believe the contrary,
until they expressly declare it. Of the objection, on the other hand,
concerning the danger of the doctrine of the imputation of the righte-
ousness of Christ, in reference unto the necessity of holiness and
works of righteousness, we must treat afterward.
The judgment of the Reformed churches herein is known unto all,
and must be confessed, unless we intend by vain cavils to increase
and perpetuate contentions. Especially the church of England is in
her doctrine express as unto the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, both active and passive, as it is usually distinguished. This
hath been of late so fully manifested out of her authentic writings, —
that is, the articles of religion, and hooks of homilies, and other writ-
ings publicly authorized, — that it is altogether needless to give any
farther demonstration of it. Those who pretend themselves to be
otherwise minded are such as I will not contend withal ; for to what
purpose is it to dispute with men who will deny the sun to shine,
when they cannot bear the heat of its beams? Wherefore, in what I
have to offer on this subject, I shall not in the least depart from the
ancient doctrine of the church of England; yea, I have no design
but to declare and vindicate it, as God shall enable.
There are, indeed, sundry differences among persons learned, sober,
and orthodox (if that term displease not), in the way and manner of
the explication of the doctrine of justification by the imputation of
the rigliteousness of Christ, who yet all of them agree in the substance
of it, — in all those tilings wherein tlie giuce of God, the honour of
Christ, and the peace of the souls of men, are principally concerned.
As far as it is possible for me, I shall avoid the concerning of myself
IMPUTATION, AND THE NATURE OF IT. 165
at present in these differences; for unto what purpose is it to contend
about them, whilst the substance of the doctrine itself is openly op-
posed and rejected ? Why should we debate about the order and
beautifying of the rooms in a house, whilst fire is set unto the whole?
When that is well quenched, we may return to the consideration of
the best means for the disposal and use of the several parts of it.
There are two grand parties by whom the doctrine of justification
by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ is opposed, — namely,
the Papists and the Socinians; but they proceed on different prin-
ciples, and unto different ends. The design of the one is to exalt
their otvn merits; of the other, to destroy the merit of Christ. But
besides these, who trade in company, we have many interlopet's, who,
coming in on their hand, do make bold to borrow from both as they
see occasion. We shall have to do with them all in our progress ; not
with the persons of any, nor the way and manner of their expressing
themselves, but the opinions of all of them, so far as they are opposite
unto the truth: for it is that which wise men despise, and good men
bewail, — to see persons pretending unto religion and piety, to cavil
at expressions, to contend about words, to endeavour the fastening of
opinions on men which they own not, and thereon mutually to revile
one another, publishing all to the world as some great achievement
or victory. This is not the way to teach the truths of the gospel,
nor to promote the edification of the church. But, in general, the
importance of the cause to be pleaded, the greatness of the opposition
that is made unto the truth, and the high concernment of the souls
of believers to be rightly instructed in it, do call for a renewed decla-
ration and vindication of it. And what I shall attempt unto this
purpose I do it under this persuasion, — that the life and continuance
of any church on the one hand, and its apostasy or ruin on the other,
do depend in an eminent manner on the preservation or rejection of
the truth in this article of religion ; and, I shall add, as it hath been
professed, received, and believed in the church of England in former
days.
The first thing we are to consider is the meaning of these words,
to impide, and imjndation; for, from a mere plain declaration hereof,
it will appear that sundry things charged on a supposition of the
imputation we plead for are vain and groundless, or the charge itself
is so.
3*^n, the word first used to this purpose, signifies to think, to
esteem, to judge, or to refer a thing or matter unto any; to impute,
or to be imputed, for good or evil. See Lev. vii. 18, xvii. 4, and Ps.
cvi. 31. '^i?1>*? ^'' 2?'P^!1, — " And it Avas counted, reckoned, imputed
unto him for righteousness;'' to judge or esteem this or that good
or evil to belong unto him, to be his. The LXX. express it by
166 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Xoyil^tu and XoyiZ^oiiai, as do the writers of the New Testament also ;
and these are rendered by " reputare, imputare, acceptum ferre,
tribiiere, assignare, ascribere." But there is a different signification
among these words: in particular, to be reputed righteous, and to
have righteousness imjmted, differ, as cause and effect; for that any
maybe reputed righteous, — that is, be judged or esteemed so to be, —
there must be a real foundation of that reputation, or it is a mistake,
and not a right judgment; as a man may be reputed to be wise who
is a fool, or reputed to be rich who is a beggar. Wherefore, he that
is reputed righteous must either have a righteousness of his own, or
another antecedently imputed unto him, as the foundation of that
reputation. Wherefore, to impute righteousness unto one that hath
none of his own, is not to repute him to be righteous who is indeed
unrighteous; but it is to communicate a righteousness unto him, that
he may rightly and justly be esteemed, judged, or reputed righteous.
" Imputare" is a word that the Latin tongue owns in the sense
wherein it is used by divines. " Optime de pessimis meruisti, ad
quos pervenerit incorrupta rerum fides, magno authori suo imputata,"
Senec. ad Mart. And Plin., lib. xviii. cap. 1, in his apologj'- for the
earth, our common parent, " Nostris earn criminibus urgemus, cul-
pamque nostram illi imputamus."
In their sense, to impute any thing unto another is, if it be evil,
to charge it on him, to burden him with it : so saith Pliny, " We
impute our own faults to the earth, or charge them upon it." If it
be good, it is to ascribe it unto him as his own, whether originally it
were so or no: " Magno authori imputata." Vasquez, in Thorn. 22,
tom. ii. disp. 132, attempts the sense of the word, but confounds it
Avith "reputare:" "Imputare aut reputare quidquam alicui, est
idem atque inter ea quae sunt ipsius, et ad eum pertinent, connu-
merare et recensere." This is "reputare" properly; "imputare"
includes an act antecedent unto this accounting or esteeming a thing
to belong unto any jDerson.
But whereas that may be imputed unto us which is really our
own antecedently unto that imputation, the word must needs have a
double sense, as it hath in the instances given out of Latin authors
now mentioned. And, —
1. To impute unto us that which was really ours antecedently un-
to that imputation, includes two things in it: — (1.) An acknowledg-
ment or judgment that the thing so imputed is really and truly ours,
or in us. He that imputes wisdom or learning unto any man doth,
in the first place, acknowledge him to be wise or learned. (2.) A
dealing with them according unto it, whether it be good or evil. So
' Aoyi^u is never used either in the LXX. or in purer Greek. We have
allowed the passage to stand as written by Owen. — En.
IMPUTATION, AND THE NATURE OF IT. 167
when, upon a trial, a man is acquitted because he is found righteous;
first, he is judged and esteemed righteous, and then dealt with as a
righteous person, — his righteousness is imputed unto him. See this
exemplified, Gen. xxx. 33.
2. To impute unto us that which is not our own antecedently unto
that imputation, includes also in it two things: — (1.) A grant or
donation of the thing itself unto us, to be ours, on some just ground
and foundation; for a thing must be made ours before we can
justly be dealt withal according unto what is required on the account
of it. (2.) A luill of dealing with us, or an actual dealing Avith us,
according unto that which is so made ours; for in this matter
whereof we treat, the most holy and righteous God doth not justify/
any, — that is, absolve them from sin, pronounce them righteous, and
thereon grant unto them right and title unto eternal life, — but upon
the interveniency of a true and complete righteousness, truly and
completely made the righteousness of them that are to be justified
in order of nature antecedently unto their justification. But these
things will be yet made more clear by instances ; and it is necessary
they should be so.
(1.) There is an imputation unto us of that which is really our
own, inherent in us, performed by us, antecedently unto that impu-
tation, and this whether it be evil or good. The rule and nature
hereof is given and expressed, Ezek. xviii. 20, " The righteousness of
the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked
shall be upon him." Instances we have of both sorts. First, in the
imputation of sin when the person guilty of it is so judged and
reckoned a sinner as to be dealt withal accordingly. This imputa-
tion Shimei deprecated, 2 Sam. xix. 19. He said unto the king,
" Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me," — PV ''^"'^ V" ^S^^'H."''^,
the word used in the expression of the imputation of righteousness,
Gen. XV. 6, — " neither do thou remember that which thy servant did
perversely: for thy servant doth know that I have sinned." He was
guilty, and acknowledged his guilt; but deprecates the imputation of
it in such a sentence concerning him as his sin deserved. So
Stephen deprecated the imputation of sin unto them that stoned him,
whereof they were really guilty, Acts vii. 60, " Lay not this sin to
their charge;" — impute it not unto them: as, on the other side,
Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, who died in the same cause and the
same kind of death with Stephen, prayed that the sin of those which
slew him might be charged on them, 2 Chron. xxiv. 22. Wherefore,
to impute sin is to lay it unto the charge of any, and to deal with
them according unto its desert.
To impute that which is good unto any, is to judge and acknow-
ledge it so to be theirs, and thereon to deal with them in whom it is
according unto its respect unto the law of God. The " righteousness
1 CS ON JUSTIFICATION.
of the righteous shall be upon him." So Jacob provided that his
"righteousness should answer for him," Gen. xxx. 33. And we have an
instance of it in God's dealing with men, Ps. cvi. 30, 31, " Then stood
up Phinehas and executed judgment ; and that was counted unto
him for righteousness." Notwithstanding it seemed that he had not
sufficient warrant for what he did, yet God, that knew his heart, and
what guidance of his own Spirit he was under, approved his act as
rigliteous, and gave him a reward testifying that approbation.
Concerning this imputation it must be observed, that whatever is
our own antecedently thereunto, which is an act of God thereon, can
never be imputed unto us /or any thing more or less than what it is
really in itself For this imputation consists of two parts, or two
things concur thereunto : — First, A judgment of the thing to be ours,
to be in us, or to belong unto us. Secondly, A will of dealing with us,
or an actual dealing with us, according unto it. Wherefore, in the
imputation of any thing unto us which is ours, God esteemeth it not
to be other than it is. He doth not esteem that to be a perfect
righteousness which is imperfect; so to do, might argue either a
mistake of the thing judged on, or perverseness in the judgment
itself upon it. Wherefore, if, as some say, our own faith and obe-
dience are imputed unto us for righteousness, seeing they are
imjje^fect, they must be imputed unto us for an imperfect righteous-
ness, and not for that which is perfect; for that judgment of God
which is according unto truth is in this imputation. And the impu-
tation of an imperfect righteousness unto us, esteeming it only as
such, will stand us in little stead in this matter. And the acceptila-
tion which some plead (traducing a fiction in human laws to interpret
the mystery of the gospel) doth not only overthrow all imputation,
but the satisfaction and merit of Christ also. And it must be observed,
that this imputation is a mere act of justice, without any mixture of
grace; as the apostle declares, Rom. xi. 6. For it consists of these
two parts: — First, An acknowledging and judging that to be in us
which is truly so ; Secondly, A will of dealing with us according unto
it: both which are acts of justice.
(2.) The imputation unto us of that which is not our own antece-
dently unto that imp)utation, at least not in the same manner as it is
afterward, is various also, as unto the grounds and causes that it pro-
ceeds upon. Only it must be observed, that no imputation of this
kind is to account them unto whom any thing is imjDuted to have
done the things themselves which are imputed unto them. That were
not to impute, but to err in judgment, and, indeed, utterly to over-
throw the whole nature of gracious imputation. But it is to make
that to he ours by imputation Avhich was not ours before, unto all
ends and purposes whereunto it would have served if it had been our
own without any such imputation.
IMPUTATION, AND THE NATURE OF IT. 1 GD
It is therefore a manifest mistake of their own which some mal^e
the ground of a charge on the doctrine of imputation. For they say,
" If our sins were imputed unto Christ, then must he be esteemed to
have done what we have done amiss, and so he the greatest sinner
that ever tvas;" and on the other side, " If his righteousness be imputed
unto us, then are we esteemed to have done what he did, and so to
stand in no need of the pardon of sin." But this is contrary unto the
nature of imputation, which proceeds on no such judgment ; but, on
the contrary, that we ourselves have done nothing of what is im-
jDuted unto us, nor Christ any thing of v/hat was imputed unto him.
To declare more distinctly the nature of this imputation, I shall
consider the several kinds of it, or rather the several grounds whence
it proceeds. For this imputation unto us of what is not dUr own
antecedent unto that imputation, may be either, — 1. " Ex justitia;"
or, 2. "Ex voluntaria sponsione;" or, 3. "Ex injuria; or, 4. "Ex
gratia;" — all which shall be exemplified. I do not place them thus
distinctly, as if they miglit not some of them concur in the same im-
putation, which I shall manifest that they do ; but I shall refer the
several kinds of imputation unto that which is the next cause of
every one.
ri. Things that are not our own originally, personally, inherently,
may yet be imputed unto us " ex justitia," by the rule of righteous-
ness. And this may be done upon a double relation unto those
whose they are: — (1.) Federal. (2.) Natural.
(1.) Things done by one may be imputed unto others, " propter
relationem foederalem," — because of a covenant relation between them.
So the sin of Adam was and is imputed unto all his posterity ; as we
shall afterward more fully declare. And the ground hereof is, that
we stood all in the same covenant with him, who was our head and
representative therein. The corruption and depravation of nature
which we derive from Adam is imputed unto us with the first kind
of imputation, — namely, of that which is ours antecedently unto that
imputation: but his actual sin is imputed unto us as that, whicli
h^omes ours by that imputation; which before it was not. Hence,
saith Beilarmme himself, " Peccatum Adami ita posteris omnibus
imputatur, ac si omnes idem peccatum patravissent," De Amiss. Grat.,
lib. iv. cap. 10; — " The sin of Adam is so imputed unto all his poste-
rity, as if they had all committed the same sin." And he gives us
herein the true nature of imputation, which he fiercely disputes against
in his books on justification. For the imputation of that sin unto us,
as if we had committed it, whicli he ackuowledgeth, includes both a
transcription of that sin unto us, and a dealing with us as if we had
committed it ; which is the doctrine of the apostle, Rom. v.
(2.) There is an imputation of sin unto others, " ex justitia
170 ON JUSTIFICATION.
propter relationem naturalem/' — on the account oi d^ natural relation
between them and those who had actually contracted the guilt of it.
But this is so only with respect unto some outward, temporary effects
of it. So God speaks concerning the children of the rebellious Israel-
ites in the wilderness, " Your children shall wander in the wilder-
ness forty years, and bear your whoredoms," Numb. xiv. 33 ; — " Your
sin shall be so far imputed unto your children, because of their rela-
tion unto you, and your interest in them, as that they shall suffer
for them in an afflictive condition in the wilderness." And this was
just because of the relation between them; as the same procedure of
divine justice is frequently declared in other places of the Scripture.
So, where there is a due foundation of it, imputation is an act of
justice.
2. Imputation may justly ensue " ex voluntaria sponsione," —
when one freely and willingly undertakes to answer for another.
An illustrious instance hereof we have in that passage of the apostle
unto Philemon in the behalf of Onesimus, verse 18, " If he hath
wronged thee, or oweth thee ought" {rovro sf/,oi sXXoysi), " impute it
unto me, — put it on my account." He supposeth that Philemon
might have a double action against Onesimus. (1.) " Injuriarum," of
wrongs : E/ ds n :n^ix,yi6B as' — " If he hath dealt unjustly with thee,
or by thee, if he hath so wronged thee as to render himself obnoxious
unto punishment." (2.) " Damni," or of loss: "H oplXsr — "If he oweth
thee ought, be a debtor unto thee ;" which made him liable to pay-
ment or restitution. In this state the apostle interposeth himself by
a voluntary sponsion, to undertake for Onesimus : " I Paul have
written it with my own hand," 'Eyw affor/Vw" — "I Paul will answer for
the whole." And this he did by the transcription of both the debts
of Onesimus unto himself ; for the crime was of that nature as might
be taken away by compurgation, being not capital. And the impu-
tation of them unto him was made just by his voluntai^y undertaking
of them. "Account me," saith he, " the person that hath done these
things ; and I will make satisfaction, so that nothing be charged on
Onesimus." So Judah voluntarily undertook unto Jacob for the
safety of Benjamin, and obliged himself unto pierpetual guilt in case
of failure. Gen. xliii. 9, " I will be surety for him ; of my hand shalt
thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before
thee," Q"'P*!^"^|i "^^ ''^1^90'':, — " I will sin," or " be a sinner before thee
always," — be guilty, and, as we say, hear the blame. So he expresseth
himself again unto Joseph, chap. xliv. 32. It seems this is the
nature and office of a surety ; what he undertaketh for is justly to
be required at his hand, as if he had been originally and personally
concerned in it. And this vohmtai'y sponsion was one ground of
the imputation of our sin unto Christ. /He took on him the person
IMPUTATION, A.ND THE NATURE OF IT. 171
of the whole church that had sinned, to answer for what they had
done against God and the law. Hence that imputation was " fuiida-
mentaliter ex compacto, ex voluntaria sponsione ;" — it had its founda-
tion in his voluntary undertaking./ But, on supposition hereof, it
was actually " ex justitia;" it being righteous that he should answer
for it, and make good what he had so undertaken, the glory of God's
righteousness and holiness being greatly concerned herein.
. '3. There is an imputation "ex injuria," — when that is laid
unto the charge of any whereof he is not g"uilty : so Bathsheba says
unto David, " It shall come to pass that when my lord the king shall
sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be ^''^^n/'
(sinners), 1 Kings i. 21 ; — " shall be dealt with as offenders, as guilty
persons ; have sin imputed unto us, on one pretence or other, unto
our destruction. We shall be sinners, — be esteemed so, and be dealt
withal accordingly." And we may see that, in the phrase of the
Scripture, the denomination of sinners folio weth the imputation as
well as the inhesion of sin; which will give light unto that place of
the apostle, " He was made sin for us," 2 Cor. v. 21. This kind of
imputation hath no place in the judgment of God. It is far from
him that the righteous should be as the wicked.
4. There is an imputation " ex mera gratia," — of mere grace
and favour. And this is, when that which antecedently unto this
imputation was no way ours, not inherent in us, not performed by
us, which we had no right nor title unto, is gi'anted unto us, made
ours, so as that we are judged of and dealt with according unto it.
This is that imputation, in both branches of it, — negative in the non-
imputation of sin, and positive in the imputation of righteousness, —
which the apostle so vehemently pleads for, and so frequently assert-
eth, Rom. iv. ; for he both affirms the thing itself, and declares that
it is of mere grace, without respect unto any thing within ourselves.
And if this kind of imputation cannot be fully exemplified in any
other instance but this alone whereof we treat, it is because the
foundation of it, in the mediation of Christ, is singular, and that
which there is nothing to parallel in any other case among men.
From what hath been discoursed concerning the nature and
grounds of imputatio7i, sundry things are made evident, which con-
tribute much light unto the truth which we plead for, at least unto the
right understanding and stating of the matter under debate. As, —
1. The difference is plain between the imputation of any works
of our own unto us, and the imjnitation of the righteousness of
faith without works. For the imputation of works unto us, be they
what they will, be it faith itself as a work of obedience in us, is the
imputation of that which was ours before such imputation; but the
imputation of the righteousness of faith, or the righteousness of God
1 72 ON JUSTIFICATION.
whicli is by faith, is the imputation of that which is made ours hy
Adrtue of that imputation. And these two imputations differ in their
whole kind. The one is a judging of that to be in us which indeed
is so, and is ours before that judgment be passed concerning it ; the
oth©r- isa communication of that unto us which, before was not ours.
And no man can make sense of the apostle's discourse, — that is, he
cannot understand any thing of it, — if he acknowledge not that the
righteousness he treats of is made ours by imputation, and was not
ours antecedently thereunto.
2. The imputation of works, of what sort soever they be, of faith
itself as a work, and all the obedience of faith, is " ex justitia," and
not " ex gratia," — of right, and not of grace. However the bestow-
ing of faith on us, and the working of obedience in us, may -be of
grace, yet the imputation of them unto us, as in us, and as ours, is
an act of justice; for this imputation, as was showed, is nothing but
a judgment that such and such things are in us, or are ours, which
truly and really are so, with a treating of us according unto them.
This is an act of justice, as it appears in the description given of that
imputation ; but the imjnitation of righteousness, mentioned by the
apostle, is as unto us " ex mera gratia," of mere grace, as he fully
declares, — dcuptav rfi %a^/r/ ahrov. And, moreover, he declares that
these two sorts of imputation are inconsistent and not capable of any
composition, so that any thing should be partly of the one, and
partly of the other, Rom. xi. 6, " If by grace, then it is no more of
works; otherwise grace is no more grace: but if it be of works,
then it is no more grace ; otherwise work is no more work." For
instance, ii faith itself as a work of ours be imputed unto us, it being
ours antecedently unto that imputation, it is but an acknowledgment
of it to be in us and ours, with an ascription of it unto us for wliat it
is; for the ascription of any thing unto us for what it is not, is not
imputation, but mistake. But this is an imputation " ex justitia,"
of Avorks; and so that which is of mere grace can have no place, by
the apostle's rule. So the imputation unto us of what is in us is
exclusive of grace, in the apostle's sense. And on the other hand, if
the righteousness of Christ be imputed unto us, it must be " ex mera
gratia," of mere grace; for that is imputed unto us which was not
ours antecedently unto that imputation, and so is communicated
unto us thereby. And here is no place for works, nor for any pre-
tence of them. In the one way, the foundation of imputation is in
ourselves ; in the other, it is in another : Avhich are in-econcilable.
3. Herein both these kinds of iniputation do agree, — namely, in
that whatever is imputed mito us, it is imputed for wJtat it is, and
not for what it is not. If it be a perfect righteousness that is im-
puted unto us, so it is esteemed and judged to be; and accordingly
IMPUTATION, AND THE NATURE OF IT. 1 73
are we to be dealt withal, even as those who have a perfect righteous-
ness: and if that which is imputed as righteousness unto us be im-
perfect, or imperfectly so, then as such must it be judged when it is
imputed; and we must be dealt withal as those which have such an
imperfect righteousness, and no otherwise. And therefore, whereas
our inherent righteousness is imperfect (they are to be pitied or de-
spised, not to be contended withal, that are otherwise minded), if
that be imputed unto us, we cannot be accepted on the account
thereof as perfectly righteous, without an error in judgment.
4. Hence the true nature of that imputation which we plead for
(which so many can not or will not understand) is manifest, and that
hoth. negatively a.nd positively ; for, — (1.) Negatively. First, It is not
a judging or esteeming of them to be righteous who truly and really
are not so. Such a judgment is not reducible unto any of the grounds
of imputation before mentioned. It hath the nature of that which is
'* ex injuria," or a false charge, only it differs materially from it ; for that
respects evil, this that which is good. And therefore the clamours of
the Papists and others are mere effects of ignorance or malice, wherein
they cry out " ad ravim," [till they are hoarse,] that we affirm God to
esteem them to he righteous who a,re luicJced, sinful, and polluted. But
this falls heavily on them who maintain that we are justified before God
by our own inherent righteousness: for then a man is judged righteous
who indeed is not so ; for he who is not perfectly righteous cannot be
righteous in the sight of God unto justification. Secondly, It is not
a naked pronunciation or declaration of any one to be righteous,
Avithout a just and sufficient foundation for the judgment of God
declared therein. God declares no man to be righteous but him who
is so ; the whole question being how he comes so to be. Thirdly, It
is liot the transmission ov transfusion of the righteousness of another
into them that are to be justified, that they should become perfectly
and inherently righteous thereby; for it is impossible that the right-
eousness of one should be transfused into another, to become his
subjectively and inherently: but it is a great mistake, on the other
hand, to say that therefore the righteousness of one can no way be
made the righteousness of another; which is to deny all imputation.
Wherefore, — (2./ Positively. /This imputation is an act of God
" ex mera gratia," — of his mere love and grace; whereby, on the con-
sideration of the mediation of Christ, he makes an effectual grant
and donation of a true, real, pe7fect righteousness, even that of
Christ himself unto all that do believe; and accounting it as theirs,
on his oiun gracious act, both absolves them from sin and granteth
them right and title unto eternal life./ Hence, —
5. In this imputation, the tiling itself is, first imputed unto us, and
not any of the effects of it; but they are made ours by virtue of that
174- ON JUSTIFICATION.
imputation. To say that the righteousness of Christ, — that is, liis
obedience and sufferings, — are imputed unto us only as unto their
effects, is to say that we have the benefit of them, and no more ; but
imputation itself is denied. So say the Socinians ; but they know-
well enough, and ingenuously grant, that they overthrow all true, real
imputation thereby. " Nee enim ut per Christi justitiam justificemur,
opus est ut illius justitia, nostra fiat justitia; sed suflficit ut Christi
justitia sit causa nostrse justificationis ; et hactenus possumus tibi con-
cedere, Christi justitiam esse nostram justitiam, quatenus nostrum in
bonum justitiamque redundat; verum tu proprie nostram, id est,
nobis attributam ascriptamque intelligis,'" saith Schlichtingius, Disp.
pro Socin. ad Meisner. p. 250. And it is not pleasing to see some
among ourselves with so great confidence take up the sense and words
of these men in their disputations against the Protestant doctrine in
this cause; that is, the doctrine of the church of England.
That the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us as unto its
effects, hath this sound sense in it, — namely, that the effects of it are
made ours by reason of that imputation. It is so imputed, so reckoned
unto us of God, as that he really communicates all the effects of
it unto us. But to say the righteousness of Christ is not imputed
unto us, only its effects are so, is really to overthrow all imputation ;
for (as we shall see) the effects of the righteousness of Christ cannot
be said properly to be imputed unto us ; and if his righteousness it-
self be not so, imputation hath no place herein, nor can it be under-
stood why the apostle should so frequently assert it as he doth, Rom.
iv. And therefore the Socinians, who expressly oppose the imputa-
tion of the righteousness of Christ, and plead for a participation of
its effects or benefits only, do wisely deny any such kind of righteous-
ness of Christ, — namely, of satisfaction and merit (or that the righte-
ousness of Christ, as wrought by him, was either satisfactory or meri-
torious),— as alone may be imputed unto us. For it will readily be
granted, that what alone they allow the righteousness of Christ to
consist in cannot be imputed unto us, whatever benefit we may have
by it. But I do not understand how those who gTant the righteous-
ness of Christ to consist principally in his satisfaction for us, or in
our stead, can conceive of an imputation of the effects thereof unto
us, without an imputation of the thing itself; seeing it is for that,
as made ours, that we partake of the benefits of it. But, from the
description of miputation and the instances of it, it appeareth that
there can be no imputation of any thing unless the thing itself be
imputed ; nor any participation of the effects of any thing but what
is grounded on the imputation of the thing itself Wherefore, in our
particular case, no imputation of the righteousness of Christ is al-
lowed, unless we grant itself to be imputed ; nor can we have any
GROUNDS OF IMPUTATION. 1 75
participation of the effects of it but on the supposition and founda-
tion oif that imputation. The impertinent cavils that some of late
have collected from the Papists and Socinians, — that if it be so, then
are we as righteous as Christ himself, that we have redeemed the
world and satisfied for the sins of others, that the pardon of sin
is impossible and personal righteousness needless, — shall afterward
be spoken unto, so far as they deserve.
All that we aim to demonstrate is only, that either the righteous-
ness of Christ itself is imputed unto us, or there is no imputation in
the matter of our justification; which, whether there be or no, is
another question, afterward to be spoken unto. For, as was said, the
effects of the righteousness of Christ cannot be said properly to be
imputed unto us. For instance, pardon of sin is a great effect of the
righteousness of Christ. Our sins are pardoned on the account
thereof God for Christ's sake, forgiveth us all our sins. But the
pardon of sin cannot be said to be imputed unto us, nor is so.
Adoption, justification, peace with God, all grace and glory, are effects
of the righteousness of Christ ; but that these things are not imputed
unto us, nor can be so, is evident from their nature. But we are
made partakers of them all upon the account of the imputation of
the righteousness of Christ unto us, and no otherwise.
Thus much may suffice to be spoken of the nature of imjnitation
of the righteousness of Christ; the grounds, reasons, and causes
whereof, we shall in the next place inquire into. And I doubt not
but we shall find, in our inquiry, that it is no such figment as some,
ignorant of these things, do imagine; but, on the contrary, an impor-
tant truth immixed with the most fundamental principles of the
mystery of the gospel, and inseparable from the grace of God in
Christ Jesus,
CHAPTER VIII.
Imputation of the sins of the churcli unto Christ— Grounds of it — The nature
of his suretiship — Causes of the new covenant — Christ and the church one
mystical person — Consequents thereof.
Those who believe the imputation of the righteousness of Christ
unto believers, for the justification of life, do also unanimously pro-
fess that the sins of all believer's were imputed unto Christ. And
this they do on many testimonies of the Scripture directly witnessing
thereunto; some whereof shall be pleaded and vindicated afterward.
At present we are only on the consideration of the general notion of
V
1 76 ON JUSTIFICATION.
these things, and the declaration of the nature of what shall be proved
afterward. And, in the first place, we shall inquire into the founda-
tion of this dispensation of God, and the equity of it, or the grounds
whereinto it is resolved; without an understanding whereof the thing
itself cannot be well apprehended.
The principal foundation hereof is, — that Christ and the church, in
this design, were one mystical perso7i; which state they do actually
coalesce into, through the uniting efficacy of the Holy Spirit. He is the
head, and believers are the members of that one person, as the apostle
declares, 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. Hence, a^whathe did is imputed unto
them, as if done by them ; so what they deserved on the account of sin
was charged upon him/ So is it expressed by a learned prelate, " Nos-
tram causam sustinebat, qui nostram sibi camem aduniverat, et ita
nobis arctissimo vinculo conjunctus, et hukig, quae erant nostra fecit
sua." And again, " Quid mirum si in nostra persona constitutus, nos-
tram earn em indutus,"etc., Montacut. Origin. Ecclesiast. The ancients
speak to the same purpose. Leo. Serm. x\'ii., " Ideo se human® in-
fimiitati virtus divina conseruit, ut dum Deus sua facit esse quse
nostra sunt, nostra faceret esse quae sua sunt ;" and also Serm. xvi.
" Caput nostrum Dominus Jesus Christus omnia in se corporis sui
membra transformans, quod olim in psalmo eructaverit, id in sup-
plicio crucis sub :redemptorum suorum voce clamavit." And so
speaks/Augustine ^0 the same purpose, Epist. cxx., ad Honoratum,
" Autlifnus vocem corporis ex ore capitis. Ecclesia in illo patie-
batur, quando pro ecclesia patiebatur," etc. ; — " We hear the voice of
the body from the mouth of the head. The church suffered in him
when he suffered for the church/ as he suffers in the church when
the church suffereth for him. For as we have heard the voice of the
church in Christ suffering, ' My God, my God, why hast thou for-
saken me? look upon me;' so we have heard the voice of Christ in
the church suffering, ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?'" But
we may yet look a little backward and farther into the sense of the
ancient church herein. " Christus," saith Irengeus, " omnes gentes
exinde ab Adam dispersas, et generationem hominum in semet ipso
recapitulatus est ; unde a Paulo typus futuri dictus est ipse Adam,"
lib. iii. cap. 33. And again, " Recapitulans universum hominum
genus in se ab initio usque ad finem, recapitulatus est et mortem
ejus." In this oi recaintulation, there is no doubt but he had respect
unto the avamfaXaluBic, mentioned Eph. i. 10; and it may be this
was that which Origen intended enigmatically, by saying, " The soul
of the first Adam was the soul of Christ, as it is charged on him."
And Cyprian, Epist. Ixii., on bearing about the administration of the
sacrament of the eucharist, " Nos omnes portabat Christus ; qui et
jDeccata nostra portabat;" — " He bare us," or suffered in our person.
GROUNDS OF IMPUTATION. 177
" when he bare our sins." Whence Athanasius affirms of the voice he
used on the cross, Oux auro; 6 Kvpiog' dXXa rjij^ug h sksivuj 'Trdg^ovng 7j/j,iv'
— " We suffered in him." Eusebius sjieaks many things to this pur-
pose, Demoustrat. Evangel. Kb. x. cap. 1. Expounding those words of
the psalmist, " Heal my soul, for" (or, as he would read them, if) "I
have sinned against thee," and applying them unto our Saviour in
his sufferings, he saith thus, 'E-Trnddv Tag 7i/jLSTspa.g -/.oivO'-xonT ug sav-hv
d/j,aprla,g' — " Because he took of our sins to himself;" communicated
our sins to himself, making them his own: for so he adds, "On rug
Tj'Msnpag d>j,apTiag l^oix.£iou/j:,ivog- — " Making our sins his own." And
because in his folloAving words he fully expresseth what I design to
prove, I shall transcribe them at large: USig 6s rag riiLiTspag aij.a.priag
s^oixsiouraii -/.ai I'uig (p'spsiv Xeyirai rag dvo[xiag yj/Muv, rj xa^' 6 <roJ/j,a au-ou
shai Xsyofjbida', %ara rov utoStoXov fT^aavTa, v/MiTg kars (s£iMa 'HpiSroZ, zai
fjj'iXri £/C ijj'ipoug' xai y.aS o rrda-^ovrog ivhg /j^iXovg, av/j^rrddy^n irdyra rd fiiXr,,
CVTU Tojv •■roXXiJv iii'K'jJv ffaff^oiz-oj!/ XK/ diJ^apTavovTOiv, xa/ avrhg zard roug
Trig 6uijj--xa6iiag X6yo\jg, iTBibri'Trsp iud6z7]ffs Qsov Ktyog wf, [j.op^riv dovXov
XdQsJv, xai rip y.oivui rrdvTMV '/j/mujv dzrivu/j^ari auvapOri'^ai' roug r£v 'xasyjivroiv
[liXuv mvovg tig savrov dvaXa/j,Qdvn, zai rag rifisripag vCaovg iBio'ToisTrai, xa/
TavTuv ^/xuv v'^ipaXysT zai VTnp'iroviT •za.rd rovg ryjg fiXavSpc/jTiag vc/Mug'
bl) n,6vov hi ravra irpd^ag 6 ' A/ut,vbg rou ©sou, dXXd zai V'—'sp tj/JjMv zo'Kaadilg
zai Ti/xuplav ij'~o(fyuiv, r,\/ avrog (iiv ovz w'ps/Xsi/, dXX' Tj/J^s/'g rov 'xXrjl)ovg
svszsv ':rB-~Xri/Ji.fMiXri,'Ji,sv(/jv, ^/xTv a'iriog rrig ruv diiapr'f\ix,dr</iv d(pi(iscog zarserrj,
drs rhv b-~sp j^/xSv dvadit,d/Ji,svog davdrov, /xdariydg rs zai -uZpsig zai d-i;j/iag
riiMTv s-rro^siXo/Msvag ug avrhv iMiraHiic, zai rriv tj/ji,?]/ 'Trpoffnri/j.ri/MS'jriv zardpav
1^' savrov hXzuGag, ysvo/xsvog h'rrip riijj£v zardpa' zai r! yap dXXo y] dvri-
■\|^i;p/oc; dio ^r,giv J^ ri/j,irspou nrpoSiL-TroM ro Xoyiov — worg sizorojg svuv savrov
rjijjTvj '/jiddg rs auru zai rd ri/jjsrspa -zddj^ idiO'Toiov/Mvog <prisiv^ syu si~a, Kvpis
eXsTiSov [jji^ idffai r^v -^v^riv /xov, on rifiaprov soi.
I have transcribed this passage at large because, as I said, what I
intend to prove in the present discourse is declared fully therein.
Thus, therefore, he speaks: " How, then, did he make our sins to be
his own, and how did he bear our iniquities ? Is it not from thence,
that we are said to be his body ? as the apostle speaks, ' You are the
body of Christ, and members, for your part, or of one another.' And
as when one member suffers, all the members do suffer; so the many
members sinning and suffering, he, according unto the laws of
sympathy in the same body (seeing that, being the Word of God, he
would take the form of a servant, and be joined unto the common
habitation of us all in the same nature), took the sorrows or labours
of the suffering members on him, and made all their infirmities his
own; and, according to the laws of Inmianity (in the same body), bare
our sorrow and labour for us. And the Lamb of God did not only
these things for us, but he underwent torments, and was punished
VOL. V. 1:^
1 78 ON JUSTIFICATION,
for us; that which he was no ways exposed unto for himself, but we
were so by the multitude of our sins: and thereby he became the
cause of the pardon of our sins, — namely, because he underwent
death, stripes, reproaches, translating the thing which we had de-
served unto himself, — and was made a curse for us, taking unto him-
self the curse that was due to us ; for what was he but (a substitute
for us) a price of redemption for our souls ? In our person, therefore,
the oracle speaks, — whilst freely uniting himself unto us, and us unto
himself, and making our (sins or passions his own), ' I have said. Lord,
be merciful unto me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee/"
That our sins were transferred unto Christ and made his, that
thereon he underwent the punishment that was due unto us for
them, and that the ground hereof, whereinto its equity is resolved, is
the union between him and us, is fully declared in this discourse.
So saith the learned and pathetical author of the Homilies on Matt.
v., in the works of Chrj'sostom, Hom. liv., which is the last of them,
" In came sua omnem camem suscepit, crucifixus, omnem carneni
crucifixit in se." He speaks of the church. So they speak often,
others of them, that " he bare us," that " he took us with him on the
cross," that " we were all crucified in him;" as Prosper, " He is not
saved by the cross of Christ who is not crucified in Christ," Resp.
ad cap., Gal. cap. ix.
This, then, I say, is the foundation of the imputation of the sins of
thg^ church unto Christ, — namely, that he and it are one person; the
grounds whereof we must inquire into.
But hereon sundry discourses do ensue, and various inquuies are
made, — What o, person is? in wJiat sense, and in hotu many senses,
that word may be used? what is the true notion of it? what is a
natural person ? what a legal, civil, or political person ? in the exphca-
tion whereof some have fallen into mistakes. And if we should enter
into this field, we need not fear matter enough of debate and alterca-
tion. But I must needs say, tliat these things belong not unto our
present occasion; nor is the union of Christ and the church illustrated,
but obscured by them. For Christ and believers are neither one
natural person, nor a legal or political person, nor any such person
as the laws, customs, or usages of men do know or allow o£ They
are one mystical person ; whereof although there may be some im-
perfect resemblances found in natural or jjolitical unions, yet the
union from whence that denomination is taken between him and us
is of that nature, and ariseth from such reasons and causes, as no
personal union among men (or the union of many j)ei'sons) hath
any concernment in. And therefore, as to the representation of it
unto our weak understandings, unable to comprehend the depth of
heavenly mysteries, it is compared unto unions of divers kinds and
GROUNDS OF IMPUTATFON. ] 79
natures. So is it represented by that of man and wife; not as unto
those mutual affections which give them only a moral union, but
from the extraction of the first woman from the Jiesh and bone of
the first man, and the institution of God for the individual society of
life thereon. This the apostle at large declares, Eph. v. 25-32:
whence he concludes, that from the union thus represented, " We
are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," verse 30; or
have such a relation unto him as JEve had to Adam, when she was
made of his flesh and bone, and so was one flesh with him. So, also,
it is compared unto the union of the head and members of the same
natural body, 1 Cor. xii. 12; and unto ^ political union also, between
a ruling or political head and its political members; but never ex-
clusively unto the union of a natural head and its members com^orised
in the same expression, Eph. iv. 15; Col. ii. 19. And so also unto
sundiy things in nature, as a vine and its branches, John xv. 1, 2.
And it is declared by the relation that was between Adam aind his
posterity, by God's institution and the law of creation, Rom. v. 12,
etc. And the Holy Ghost, by representing the union that is between
Christ and believers by such a variety of resemblances, in things
agreeing only in the common or general notion of union, on various
grounds, doth sufficiently manifest that iVis not of, nor can be reduced
unto, any one kind of them. And this will yet be made more evi-
dent by the consideration of the causes of it, and the grounds where-
into it is resolved. But whereas it would require much time and
diligence to handle them at large, which the mention of them here,
being occasional, will not admit, I shall only briefly refer unto the
heads of them : —
1. The first spring or cause of this union, and of all the other causes
of it, lieth in that eternal compact that was between the Father and
the Son concerning the recovery and salvation of fallen mankind.
Herein, among other things, as the effects thereof, the assumption
of our nature (the foundation of this union) was designed. The na-
ture and terms of this compact, counsel, and agreement, I have de-
clared elsewhere ; and therefore must not here again insist upon it.
But the relation between Christ and the church, proceeding from
hence, and so being an effect of infinite wisdom, in the counsel of
the Father and Son, to be made effectual by the Holy Spirit, must
be distinguished from all other unions or relations whatever.
2. The Lord Christ, as unto the nature which he was to assume,
was hereon predestinated unto grace and glory. He was it^oiyvMa-
/jbhog, — " fore-ordained," predestinated, " before the foundation of the
world," 1 Pet. i. 20 ; that is, he was so, as unto his office, so unto
all the grace and glory required thereunto, and consequent thereon.
All the grace and glory of the human nature of Christ was an effect
ISO ON JUSTIFICATION.
of free divine j^re-ordination. God chose it from all eternity unto a
participation of all which it received in time. Neither can any other
cause of the glorious exaltation of that portion of our nature be as-
signed.
8. This grace and glory whereunto he was pre-ordained was two-
fold:— (1.) That Vy'hich was 2^€C^diar unto himself ; (2.) That which
was to be communicated, by and through himj unto the church.
(1.) Of the fir^st sort was the %ap;s svuiesus, — the grace of personal
xinion; that single effect of divine wisdom (whereof there is no sha-
dow nor resemblance in any other works of God, either of creation,
providence, or grace), which his nature was filled withal : " Full of
grace and truth." And all his personal glory, power, authority, and
majesty as mediator, in his exaltation at the right hand of God, which
is expressive of them all, do belong hereunto. These things were
peculiar unto him, and all of them effects of his eternal predestination.
But,— ^(2.) He was not thus predestinated absolutely, but also with re-
spect unto that grace and glory which in him and by him was to be
communicated unto the church. And he was so, —
[1.] As the pattern and exemplary cause of our predestination;
for we are " predestinated to be conformed unto the image of the
Son of God, that he might be the first-born among many brethren,"
Rom. viii. 29. Hence he shall even " change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body," Phil. iii. 21 ; that
when he appears we may be every way like him, 1 John iii. 2.
[2.] As the means and cause of communicating all grace and glory
unto us; for we are " chosen in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy, and predestinated unto the adoption
of children by him," Eph. i. 8-5. He was designed as the only pro-
curing cause of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things unto those
who are chosen in him. Wherefore, —
[8.] He was \X\Vi& fore-ordained as the head of the church ; it being
the design of God to gather all things into a head in him, Eph. i. 10.
[4.] All the elect of God were, in his eternal purpose and design,
and in the everlasting covenant between the Father and the Son,
committed unto him, to be delivered from sin, the law, and death,
and to be brought into the enjoyment of God : " Thine they were,
and thou gavest them me," John xvii. 6. Hence was that love
of his unto them wherewith he loved them, and gave himself for
them, antecedently unto any good or love in them, Eph. v. 25, 26;
Gal. ii. 20; Rev. i. 5, 6.
[5.] In the prosecution of this design of God, and in the accom-
plishment of the everlasting covenant, in the fulness of time he took
u]^on him our nature, or took it into personal subsistence with him-
self The especial relation that ensued hereon between him and the
SURETISHIP. 181
elect children the apostle declares at large, Heb. ii. 10-17; and I refer
the reader imto our exposition of that place.
[6.] On these foundations he undertook to be the surety of the
neiv covenant, Heb. vii. 22, " Jesus was made a surety of a better
testament." This alone, of all the fundamental considerations of the
imputation of our sins unto Christ, I shall insist upon, on purpose to
obviate or remove some mistakes about the nature of his suretishvp,
and the respect of it unto the covenant whereof he was the surety.
And I shall borrow what I shall offer hereon from our exposition of
this passage of the apostle in the seventh chapter of this epistle, not
yet published, with very little variation from what I have discoursed
on that occasion, without the least respect unto, or prospect of, any
treating on our present subject.
— The word 'iyyvog is nowhere found in the Scripture but in this
place only ; but the advantage which some would make from thence,
— namely, that it being hut one place wherein the Lord Christ is
called a surety, it is not of much force, or much to be insisted on, — is
both unreasonable and absurd; for, — 1st. This one place is of divine
revelation ; and therefore is of the same authority with tAventy testi-
monies unto the same purpose. One divine testimony makes our
faith no less necessary, nor doth one less secure it from being deceived
than a hundred.
2dly. The signification of the word is known from the use of it,
and what it signifies among men ; so that no question can be made
of its sense and importance, though it be but once used : and this on
any occasion removes the difficulty and danger, rHv a-ra^ Xsyof^svuv.
Sdly. The thing itself intended is so fully declared by the apostle in
this place, and so plentifully taught in other places of the Scrijoture,
as that the single use of this word may add light, but can be no pre-
judice unto it.
Something may be spoken unto the signification of the word
'iyyuog, which will give light into the thing intended by it. TvaXov is
" vola manus," — the '■ palm of the hand ;" thence is syyvog, or ug rh
yvaXov, — to " deliver into the hand." 'Eyyvnr-^g is of the same sig-
nification. Hence being a surety is interpreted by striking the hand,
Prov. vi. 1, " My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast
stricken thy hand with a stranger." So it answers the Hebrew ^"IJ?,
which the LXX. render lyyudoj, Prov. vi. 1, xvii. 18, xx. 16; and
by dnyyvdu, Neh. V. 3. ^IJ^ originally signifies to mingle, or a 'inix-
tiire of any things or persons; and thence, from the conjunction and
mixture that is between a surety and him for whom he is a surety,
whereby they coalesce into one person, as unto the ends of that
suretiship, it is used for a surety, or to give surety. And he that
was Cr did ^l^, a surety, or become a surety, was to answer for liim
182 ON JUSTIFICATION.
for whom he was so, whatsoever befell him. So is it described, Gen.
xliii. 9, in the words of Judah unto his father Jacob, concerning
Benjamin, ''^^"ij?^ '•^jiix^ — "I -will be surety for him; of my hand
shalt thou require him." In undertaking to be surety for him, as
unto his safety and preservation, he engage th himself to answer for
all that should befall him ; for so he adds, " If I bring him not unto
thee, and set him before thee, let me be guilty for ever." And on
this grovmd he entreats Joseph that he might be a servant and a
bondman in his stead, that he might go free and return unto his
father, Gen. xliv. 32, 83. This is required unto such a surety, that
he undergo and answer all that he for whom he is a surety is liable
unto, whether in things criminal or civil, so far as the suretiship
doth extend. A surety is an undertaker for another, or others, who
thereon is justly and legally to answer what is due to them, or from
them ; nor is the word otherwise used. See Job xvii. 3 ; Prov,
vi. 1, xi. 15, xvii. 18, xx. 16, xxvii. 13. So Paul became a surety
unto Philemon for Onesimus, verse 18. 'Eyyujj is " sponsio, expromis-
sio, fidejussio," — an undertaking or giving security for any thing or
person unto another, whereon an agreement did ensue. This, in
some cases, was by pledges, or an earnest, Isa. xxxvi. 8, ^^^ ^^i?^'!', —
" Give surety, pledges, hostages," for the true performance of condi-
tions. Hence is f^^lV., appaQuv, " a pledge," or " earnest," Eph. i. 14.
Wherefore syyvog is " sponsor, fidejussor, proes," — one that voluntarily
takes on himself the cause or condition of another, to answer, or
undergo, or pay what he is liable unto, or to see it done ; whereon
he becomes justly and legally obnoxious unto performance. In this
sense is the word here used by the apostle ; for it hath no other.
In our present inquiiy into the nature of this suretiship of Christ,
the whole will be resolved into this one question, — namely, whether
the Lord Christ was made a surety only on the part of God unto
us, to assure us that the promise of the covenant on his part should
be accomplished ; or also and principally an undertaker on our part,
for the performance of what is required ; if not of us, yet with re-
spect unto us, that the promise may be accomplished ? The first of
these is vehemently asserted by the Socinians, who are followed by
Grotius and Hammond in their annotations on this place.
The words of Schlichtingius are : " Sponsor foederis appellatur
Jesus, quod nomine Dei nobis, spoponderit, id est fidem fecerit,
Deum foederis promissiones servaturum. Non vero quasi pro nobis
spoponderit Deo, nostrorumve debitorum solution em in se receperit.
Nee enim nos misimus Christum sed Deus, cujus nomine Christus
ad nos venit, fcedus nobiscum panxit, ej usque promissiones ratas fore
spopondit et in se recepit ; ideoque nee sponsor simpliciter, sed
foederis sponsor nommatur ; spopondit autem Christus pro foederis
SUEETISHIP. 183
divini veritate, non tantum quatenus id firmum ratumque fore
verbis perpetuo testatus est ; sed etiam quatenus muneris sui fidem,
maximis rerum ipsarum coraprobavit documentis, cum perfecta vitse
innocentia et sanctitate, cum divinis plane quae patravit operibus ;
cum mortis adeo truculenta3, quani pro doctriuge suse veritate subiit,
perpessione." After which he subjoins a long discourse about the
evidences which we have of the veracity of Christ. And herein we
have a brief account of their whole opinion concerning the mediation
of Christ. The words of Grotius are, " Spopondit Christus; id est,
nos certos promissi fecit, non solis verbis, sed perpetua vitse
sanctitate, morte ob id tolerata et miraculis plurimis;" — which are
an abridgment of the discourse of Schlichtingius. To the same pur-
pose Dr Hammond expounds it, that he was a sponsor or surety for
God unto the confirmation of the promises of the covenant.
On the other hand, the generality of expositors, ancient and
modern, of the Roman and Protestant churches, on the place, affirm
that the Lord Christ, as the surety of the covenant, was properly a
surety or undertaker unto God for us, and not a surety and under-
taker unto us for God. And because this is a matter of great impor-
tance, wherein the faith and consolation of the church is highly con-
cerned, I shall insist a little upon it.
And, first, We may consider the argument that is produced to
prove that Christ was only a surety for God unto us. Now, this is
taken neither from the name nor nature of the office or work of
surety, nor from the nature of the covenant whereof he was a surety,
nor of the ofiice wherein he was so. But the sole argument insisted
on is, that we do not give Christ as a surety of the covenant unto
God, but he gives him unto us; and therefore he is a surety for God
and the accomplishment of his promises, and not for us, to pay our
debts, or to anstver what is required of us.
But there is no force in this argument ; for it belongs not unto
the nature of a surety by whom he is or may be designed unto his
offite and work therein. His own voluntary susception of the office
and work is all that is required, however he may be designed or in-
duced to undertake it. He who, of his own accord, doth voluntarily
undertake for another, on what grounds, reasons, or considerations
soever he doth so, is his surety. And this the Lord Christ did in
the behalf of the church: for when it was said, " Sacrifice, and
burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offerings for sin, God would not
have," or accept as sufficient to make the atonement that he required,
so as that the covenant might be established and made effectual unto
us; then said he, " Lo, I come to do thy will, O God," Heb. x. 5, 7.
He willingly and voluntarily, out of his own abundant goodness and
love, took upon him to make atonement for us ; wherein he was our
1S4 ON JUSTIFICATION.
surety. And accordingly, this undertaking is ascribed unto tliat love
which he exercised herein, Gal. ii. 20 ; 1 John iii. 1 6 ; Kev. i. 5. And
there was this in it, moreover, that he took upon him our nature or
the seed of Abraham ; wherein he was our surety. So that although
we neither did nor could appoint him so to be, yet he took from us
that wherein and whereby he was so ; which is as much as if we had
designed liim unto his work, as to the true reason of his being our
surety. Wherefore, notwithstanding those antecedent transactions
that were between the Father and him in this matter, it was the
voluntary engagement of himself to be our surety, and his taking
our nature upon him for that end, which was the formal reason of
his being instated in that office.
It is indeed weak, and contrary unto all common experience, that
none can be a surety for others unless those others design him and
apiDoint him so to be. The principal instances of suretishijD in the
world have been by the voluntary undertaking of such as were no
Avay procured so to do by them for whom they undertook. And in
such undertakings, he unto whom it is made is no less considered
than they for whom it is made : as when Judah, on his own account,
became a surety for Benjamin, he had as much respect unto the
satisfaction of his father as the safety of his brother. And so the
Lord Christ, in his undertaking to be a surety for us, had respect
unto the glory of God before our safety.
Secondly, We may consider the arguments whence it is evident
that he neither was nor could be a surety unto us for God, but was
so /or «s unto God. For, —
1. "'Hyyvog or ey/ujjri^j, " a surety," is one that undertaketh for an-
other wherein he is defective, really or in reputation. Whatever
that undertaking be, whether in words of promise or in depositing
of real security in the hands of an arbitrator, or by any other per-
sonal engagement of life and body, it respects the defect of the person
for whom any one becomes a surety. Such a one is " sponsor," or
" fidejussor," in all good authors and common use of speech. And
if any one be of absolute credit himself, and of a reputation every
way unquestionable, there is no need of a surety, unless in case of
mortality. The words of a surety in the behalf of another whose
ability or reputation is dubious, are, " Ad me recipio, faciet, aut fa-
ciam." And when lyy-Mq is taken adjectively, as sometimes, it sig-
nifies " satisdationibus obnoxius," — liable to payments for others that
are non-solvent.
2. God can, therefore, have no surety properly, because there can
be no imagination of any defect on his part. There may be, indeed,
a question whether any word or promise be a word or promise of
God. To assure us hereof, it is not the work of a surety, but only
SURETISHIP. ] 85
any one or any means that may give evidence that so it is, — that is,
of a "witness. But upon a supposition that what is proposed is his
word or promise, there can be no imagination or fear of any defect
on his part, so as that there should be any need of a surety for
the performance of it. He doth therefore make use of witnesses to
coniii-m his word, — that is, to testify that such promises he hath made,
and so he will do : so the Lord Christ was his witness. Isa. xliii. 10,
" Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have
chosen;" but they were not all his sureties. So he affirms that " he
came into the world to hear tvitness unto the truth,'' John xviii. 37, —
that is, the truth of the promises of God; for he was the minister of
the circumcision for the truth of the pror)iises of God unto the fathers,
Rom. XV. 8 : but a surety for God, properly so called, he was not,
nor could be. The distance and difference is wide enough between
a ivitness and a surety ; for a surety must be of more ability, or more
credit and reputation, than he or those for whom he is a surety, or
there is no need of his suretiship ; or, at least, he must add imto
their credit, and make it better than without him. This none can
be for God, no, not the Lord Christ himself, who, in his whole work,
was the servant of the Father. And the apostle doth not use this
word in a general, improper sense, for any one that by any means
gives assurance of any other thing, for so he had ascribed nothing
peculiar unto Christ ; for in such a sense all the prophets and apostles
were sureties for God, and many of them confirmed the truth of his
word and promises with the laying down of their lives; but such a
surety he intends as undertaketh to do that for others which they
cannot do for themselves, or at least are not reputed to be able to do
what is required of them.
3. The apostle had before at large declared who and what was
God's surety in this matter of the covenant, and how impossible it
was that he should have any other. And this was himself alone, in-
terposing himself by his oath; for in this cause, " because he could
swear by no greater, he sware by himself," Heb. vi. 13, 14.
Wherefore, if God would give any other surety besides himself, it
must be one greater than he. This being every way impossible, he
sivears by himself only. Many ways he may and doth use for the
declaring and testifying of his truth unto us, that we may know and
believe it to be his word ; and so the Lord Christ in his ministry was
the principal witness of the truth of God. But other surety than
himself he can have none. And therefore, —
4. When he would have us in this matter not only come unto the
full assurance of faith concerning his promises, but also to have
strong consolation therein, he resolves it wholly into the immutabi-
lity of his counsel, as declared l)y his promise and oath, chap. vi.
186 ON JUSTIFICATION.
18, 19 : so that neither is God capable of having any surety, pro-
perly so called; neither do we stand in need of any on his part for
the confirmation of our faith in the highest degree.
5. We, on all accounts, stand in need of a surety for us, or on our
behalf. Neither, without the interposition of such a surety, could any
covenant between God and us be firm and stable, or an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. In the first covenant made
v/ith Adam there was no surety, but God and men were the imme-
diate covenanters ; and although we were then in a state and con-
dition able to perform and answer all the terms of the covenant,
yet was it broken and disannulled. If this came to pass by the
failure of the promise of God, it was necessary that on the making
of a new covenant he shoidd have a surety to undertake for him,
that the covenant might be stable and everlasting; but this is false
and blasphemous to imagine. It was man alone who failed and
broke that covenant : wherefore it Avas necessary, that upon the
making of the new covenant, and that with a design and purpose
that it should oiever be disannulled, as the former was, we should
have a surety and undertaker for us ; for if that first covenant was
not firm and stable, because there was no surety to undertake for us,
notwithstanding all that ability which we had to answer the terms of
it, how much less can any other be so, now [that] our natures are
become depraved and sinful ! Wherefore we alone were capable of a
surety, properly so called, for us; we alone stood in need of him; and
without him the covenant could not be firm and inviolate on our
part. The surety, therefore of this covenant, is so with God for us.
6. It is the priesthood of Christ that the apostle treats of in this
place, and that alone: wherefore he is a surety as he is a priest,
and in the discharge of that office ; and therefore is so with God on
our behalf. This Schlichtingius observes, and is aware what will
ensue against his pretensions ; which he endeavours to obviate. " Mi-
rum," saith he, " poiTO alicui videri posset, cur divinus author de
Christi sacerdotio, in superioribus et in sequentibus agens, derepente
eum sponsorem foederis non vero sacerdotem vocet? Cur non dixerit
' tanto pro3stantioris foederis factus est sacerdos Jesus?' Hoc enim
plane requirere videtur totus orationis contextus. Credibile est in
voce sponsionis sacerdotium quoque Christi intelligi. Sponsoris enim
non est alieno nomine quippiam promittere, et fidem suam pro alio
interponere; sed etiam, si ita res ferat, alterius nomine id quod spo-
pondit prsestare. In rebus quidem humanis, si id non pra^stet is pro
quo sponsor fidejussit; hie vero propter contraria,m causam (nam prior
hie locum habere non potest), nempe quatenus ille pro quo spopondit
Christus per ipsum Christum promissa sua nobis exhibet; qua in re
prsecipue Christi sacerdotium continetur."
SURETISIIIP. 1S7
A71S. 1. It may, indeed, seem strange, unto any one who imagineth
Christ to be such a surety as he doth, why the apostle should so call
him, and so introduce him in the description of his priestly office, as
that which belongeth thereunto ; but gTant what is the proper work
and duty of a surety, and who the Lord Jesus was a surety for, and
it is evident that nothing more proper or pertinent could be men-
tioned by him, when he was m the declaration of that office.
Ans. 2. He confesseth that by his exposition of this suretiship of
Christ, as making him a surety for God, he contradicteth the nature
and only notion of a surety among men. For such a one, he acknow-
ledgeth, doth nothing but in the defect and inability of them for
whom he is engaged and doth undertake ; he is to pay that which
they owe, and to do what is to be done by them, which they cannot
perform. And if this be not the notion of a surety in this place, the
apostle makes use of a word nowhere else used in the whole Scrip-
ture, to teach us that which it doth never signify among men : which
is improbable and absurd ; for the sole reason why he did make use
of it was, that from the nature and notion of it amongst men in other
cases, we may understand the signification of it, what he intends by
it, and what under that name he ascribes unto the Lord Jesus.
Ans. 3. He hath no way to solve the apostle's mention of Christ
being a surety, in the description of his priestly office, but by over-
throwing the nature of that office also; for to confirm this absurd
notion, that Christ as a priest was a surety for God, he would have
us believe that the priesthood of Christ consists in his making effectual
unto us the promises of God, or his effectual communicating of the
good things promised unto us ; the falsehood of which notion, really
destructive of the priesthood of Christ, I have elsewhere at large
detected and confuted. Wherefore, seeing the Lord Christ is a surety
of the covenant as a priest, and all the sacerdotal actings of Christ
have God for their immediate object, and are performed with him
on our behalf, he was a surety for us also.
A surety, "sponsor, vas, prses, fidejussor," for us, the Lord Clirist
was, by his voluntary undertaking, out of his rich grace and love, to
do, answer, and perform all that is required on our part, that we
may enjoy the benefits of the covenant, the grace and glory prepared,
proposed, and promised in it, in the way and manner detennined on
by divine wisdom. And this may be reduced unto two heads: —
First, His answering for our transgressions against the first covenant;
Secondly, His purchase and procurement of the gxace of the new:
" He was made a curse for us, .... that the blessing of Abraham
might come on us," Gal. iii. 13-15.
(1.) He undertook, as the surety of the covenant, to answer for all
the sins of those who are to be, and are, made partakers of the bene-
188 ON JUSTIFICATION.
fits of it; — that is, to undergo the punishneiit due unto their sins;
to make atonement for them by offering himself a propitiatory sacri-
fice for the expiation of their sins, redeeming them, by the price of
his blood, from their state of misery and bondage under the law, and
the curse of it, Isa. liii. 4-6, 10; Matt. xx. 28; 1 Tim. ii. 6; 1 Cor.
vi. 20; Kom. iii. 25, 26; Heb. x. 5-8; Rom. viii. 2, 3; 2 Cor. v.
19-21 ; Gal. iii. 13 : and this was absolutely necessary, that the grace
and glory prepared in the covenant might be communicated unto us.
Without this undertaking of his, and performance of it, the righte-
ousness and faithfulness of God would not permit that sinners, — sucli
as had cqjostatized from him, despised his authority and rebelled
against him, falling thereby under the sentence and curse of the law, — •
should again be received into his favour, and made partakers of grace
and glory ; this, therefore, the Lord Christ took upon himself, as the
surety of the covenant.
(2.) That those who were to be taken into this covenant should
receive grace enabling them to comply with the terms of it, fulfil its
conditions, and yield the obedience which God required therein;
for, by the ordination of God, he was to procure, and did merit and
procure for them, the Holy Spirit, and all needful supplies of grace,
to make them new creatures, and enable them to yield obedience
unto God from a new principle of spiritual life, and that faithfully
unto the end : so was he the surety of this better testament. But all
things belonging hereunto will be handled at large in the place from
whence, as I said, these are taken, as suitable unto our present occasion.
But some have other notions of these things; for they say that
" Christ, by his death, and his obedience therein, whereby he offered,
himself a sacrifice of sweet smelling savour unto God, procured
for us the new covenant :" or, as one speaks, " All that we have
by the death of Christ is, that thereunto we owe the covenant
of grace; for herein he did and suffered what God requii'ed and
freely appointed him to do and suffer. Not that the justice of God
required any such thing, with respect unto their sins for whom he
died, and in whose stead, or to bestead whom, he suffered, but what,
by a free constitution of divine Avisdom and sovereignty, was ap-
pointed unto him. Hereon God was pleased to remit the terms of
the old covenant, and to enter into a new covenant with mankind,
upon terms suited unto our reason, possible unto our abilities, and
every Avay advantageous unto us; for these teniis are, faith and sin-
cere obedience, or such an assent unto the truth of divine revelation
as is effectual in obedience unto the will of God contained in them,
upon the encouragement given thereunto in the promises of eternal
life, or a future reward, made therein. On the performance of these
conditions our justification, adoption, and future glory, do depend;
SURETISHIP. 189
for they are that righteousness before God whereon he pardons our
sins, and accepts our persons as if we were perfectly righteous."
Wherefore, by this procuring the new covenant for us, which they
ascribe unto the death of Christ, they intend the abrogation of the
old covenant, or of the law, — or at least such a derogation from it,
that it shall no more oblige us either unto sinless obedience or punish-
ment, nor require a perfect righteousness unto our justification before
God,- — and the constitution of a new laiu of obedience, accommodated
unto our present state and condition; on whose observance all the
promises of the gospel do depend.
Others say, that in the death of Christ there was real satisfaction
made unto God ; not to the law, or unto God according to what the
law required, but unto God absolutely; that is, he did what God
was well pleased and satisfied withal, without any respect unto his
justice or the curse of the law. And they add, that hereon the ivhole
righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us, so far as that we are made
partakers of the benefits thereof; and, moreover, that the way of the
commimication of them unto us is by the neiu covenant, which by his
death the Lord Christ procured.: for the conditions of this covenant
are established in the covenant itself, whereon God will bestow all
the benefits and effects of it upon us ; which are faith and obedience.
Wherefore, what the Lord Christ hath done for us is thus far ac-
cepted as our legal righteousness, as that God, upon our faith and
obedience with respect thereunto, doth release and pardon all our
sins of omission and commission. Upon this pardon there is no
need of any positive perfect righteousness unto our justification or
salvation; but our own jiersonal righteousness is accepted with God
in the room of it, by virtue of the new covenant which Christ hath
procured. So is the doctrine hereof stated by Curcelteus, and those
that join with him or follow him.
Sundry things there are in these opinions that deserve an exami-
nation; and they will most, if not all of them, occur unto us in our
progress. That which alone we have occasion to inquire into, with
respect unto what we have discoursed concerning the Lord Christ as
surety of the covenant, and which is the foundation of all that is
asserted in them, is, that Christ by his death procured the new cove-
nant for us; which, as one says, is all that we have thereby: which,
if it should prove otherwise, we are not beholding unto it for any
thing at all. But these things must be examined. And, —
(L) The terms oi procuring the new covenant are ambiguous. It
is not as yet, that I know of, by any declared how the Lord Christ
did procure it, — whether he did so by his satisfaction and obedience,
as the meritorious cause of it, or by what other kind of causality.
Unless this be stated, we are altogether uncertain what relation of
190 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the oiew covenant unto the death of Christ is intended; and to say
that thereunto we owe the new covenant doth not mend the matter,
but rather render the terms more ambiguous. Neither is it declared
whether the constitution of the covenant, or the communication of
the benefits of it, is intended. It is yet no less general, that God
was so well pleased with what Christ did, as that hereon he made
and entei'ed into a new covenant tuith mankind. This they may
grant who yet deny the whole satisfaction and merit of Christ. If
they mean that the Lord Christ, by his obedience and suffering, did
meritoriously procure the making and establishing of the new cove-
nant, which was all that he so procured, and the entire effect of his
death, what they say may be understood ; but the whole nature of
the mediation of Christ is overthrown thereby.
(2.) This opinion is liable unto a great prejudice, in that, Avhereas
it is in such a fundamental aiiicle of our religion, and about that
wherein the eternal welfare of the church is so nearly concerned,
there is no mention made of it in the Scripture ; for is it not strange,
if this be, as some speak, the sole effect of the death of Christ,
whereas sundry other things are frequently in the Scripture ascribed
unto it as the effects and fruits thereof, that this which is only so
should be nowhere mentioned, — neither in express words, nor such
as will allow of this sense by any just or lawful consequence? Our
redemption, pardon of sins, the renovation of our natures, our sancti-
fication, justification, peace with God, eternal life, are all jointly and
severally assigned thereunto, in places almost without number; but it
is nowhere said in the Scripture that Christ hy his death merited,
procured, obtained, the new covenant, or that God should enter into
a new covenant with mankind ; yea, as we shall see, that which is
contrary unto it, and inconsistent with it, is frequently asserted.
(3.) To clear the truth herein, we must consider the several notions
and causes of the new covenant, with the true and real respect of the
death of Christ thereunto. And it is variously represented unto us : —
[1.] In the designation and preparation of its terms and benefits
in the counsel of God. And this, although it have the nature of an
eternal decree, yet is it not the same with the decree of election, as
some suppose : for that properly respects the subjects or persons for
whom grace and glory are prepared ; this, the preparation of that
gTace and glory as to the way and manner of their communication.
Some learned men do judge that this counsel and purpose of the
will of God to give grace and glory in and by Jesus Christ unto the
elect, in the way and by the means by him prepared, is formally the
covenant of grace, or at least that the substance of the covenant is
comprised therein ; but it is certain that more is required to comi^lete
the whole nature of a covenant. Nor is this purpose or counsel of
SURETISHIP. 191
God called the covenant in the Scripture, but is only proposed as the
spring and fountain of it, Eph. i. 8-12. Unto the full exemplifica-
tion of the covenant of grace there is required the declaration of this
counsel of God's will, accompanied with the means and powers of its
accomplishment, and the prescription of the way whereby we are so
to be interested in it, and made partakers of the benefits of it: but
in the inquiry after the procuring cause of the new covenant, it is the
first thing that ought to come under consideration; for nothing can
be the procuring cause of the covenant which is not so of this spring
£i,nd fountain of it, of this idea of it in the mind of God, of the pre-
paration of its terms and benefits. But this is nowhere in the Scrip-
ture affirmed to be the effect of the death or mediation of Christ;
and to ascribe it thereunto is to overthrow the whole freedom of
eternal grace and love. Neither can any thing that is absolutely
eternal, as is this decree and counsel of God, be the effect of, or pro-
cured by, any thing that is external and temporal.
[2.] It may be considered with respect unto i]ie federal transac-
tions between the Father and the Son, concerning the accomplishment
of this counsel of his will. What these were, wherein they did con-
sist, I have declared at large, Exercitat., vol. ii.^ Neither do I call
this the covenant of grace absolutely; nor is it so called in the Scrip-
ture. But yet some will not distinguish between the covenant of the
mediator and the covenant of gi'ace, because the promises of the
covenant absolutely are said to be made to Christ, Gal. iii. 16; and he
is the vpiZrov dsxTixov, or first subject of all the grace of it. But in the
covenant of the mediator, Christ stands alone for himself, and under-
takes for himself alone, and not as the representative of the church ;
Ijut this he is in the covenant of grace. But this is that wherein
it had its designed establishment, as unto all the ways, means, and
ends of its accomplishment ; and all things are so disposed as that it
might be effectual, unto the eternal glory of the wisdom, grace, right-
eousness, and power of God. Wherefore the covenant of grace could
not be iwocured by any means or cause but that which was the cause
of this covenant of the mediator, or of God the Father with the Son,
as undertaking the work of mediation. And as this is nowhere
ascribed unto the death of Christ in the Scripture, so to assert it is
contrary unto all spuitual reason and understanding. Who can con-
ceive that Christ by his death should procure the agreement between
God and him that he should die ?
[3.] With respect unto the declaration of it by especial revelation.
This we may call God's making or establishing of it, if we please;
though making of the covenant in Scripture is applied principally, if
not only, unto its execution or actual application unto persons, 2 Sam.
1 See Exercit. xxviii. in the preliminary dissertations to the " Exposition of
the Epistle to the Hebrews."
192 ON JUSTIFICATION.
xxiii. 5; Jer. xxxii. 40. This declaration of tlie grace of God, and
the provision in the covenant of the mediator for the making of it
effectual unto his glory, is most usually called the covenant of grace.
And this is twofold : —
1st. In the way of a singular and absolute promise : so was it
first declared unto and established with Adam, and afterward with
Abraham. The promise is the declaration of the jnirpose of God
before declared, or the free determination and counsel of his will, as
to his dealing with sinners on the supposition of the fall, and their
forfeiture of their first covenant state. Hereof the grace and luill of
God were the only cause, Heb. viii. 8. And the death of Christ could
not be the means of its jyi^ocurement; for he himself, and all that
he was to do for us, was the substance of that promise. And this
promise, — as it is declarative of the purpose or counsel of the will of
God for the communication of grace and glory unto sinners, in and
by the mediation of Christ, according to the Avays and On the terms
prepared and disposed in his sovereign wisdom and pleasure, — is for-
mally the new covenant; though something yet is to be added to
complete its application unto us. Now, the substance of the fii^st
promise, wherein the whole covenant of grace was virtually com-
prised, directly respected and expressed the giving of him for the
recovery of mankind from sin and misery by his death, Gen. iii. 15.
Wherefore, if he and all the benefits of his mediation, his death, and
all the effects of it, be contained in the promise of the covenant, —
that is, in the covenant itself, — then was not his death the p>rocuring
cause of that covenant, nor do we owe it thereunto.
'2dUj. In the additional prescrij)tioii of the way and means
whereby it is the will of God that we shall enter into a covenant
state with him, or be interested in the benefits of it. This being
vii'tually comprised in the absolute promise (for every promise of
God doth tacitly requke faith and obedience in us), is expressed in
other places by way of the condition required on our part. Tliis
is not the covenant, but the constitution of the terms on our part,
whereon we are made partakers of it. Nor is the constitution of
these terms an effect of the death of Christ, or procured thereby ;
it is a mere effect of the sovereign grace and wisdom of God. The
things themselves, as bestowed on us, communicated unto us, wrought
in us by grace, are all of them effects of the death of Christ ; but the
constitution of them to he the terms and conditions of the covenant,
is an act of mere sovereign wisdom and grace. " God so loved the
world, as to send his only begotten Son to die," not that faith and
repentance might be the means of salvation, but that all his elect
might believe, and that all that believe " might not perish, but have
everlasting life." But yet it is granted that the constitution of these
terms of the covenant doth respect i\\Q federal transaction between
SURETISHIP. 193
the Father and the Sou, wherein they were ordered to the praise
of the glory of God's grace; and so, although their coustitutiou was
not the procurement of his death, yet without respect unto it, it had
not been. Wherefore, the sole cause of God's inahing the new cove-
nant was the same with that of giving Christ himself to be our
mediator, — namely, the purpose, counsel, goodness, grace, and love
of God, as it is everywhere expressed in the Scripture.
[4.] The covenant may be considered as unto the actual aj^plica-
tion of the grace, benefits, and privileges of it unto any persons,
whereby they are made real partakers of them, or are taken into
covenant with God ; and this alone, in the Scripture, is intended by
God's making a covenant with any. It is not a. general revelation,
or declaration of the terms and nature of the covenant (which some
call a universal conditional covenant, on what grounds they know
best, seeing the very formal nature of making a covenant with any
includes the actual acceptation of it, and participation of the bene-
fits of it by them), but a communication of the grace of it, accom-
panied with a prescription of obedience, that is God's making his
covenant with any; as all instances of it in the Scripture do declare.
It may be, therefore, inquired. What respect the covenant of
grace hath unto the death of Christ, or what influence it hath
thereunto ?
I answer, Supposing what is spoken of his being a surety thereof,
it hath a threefold respect thereunto : —
1st. In that the covenant, as the grace and glory of it were pre-
pared in the counsel of God, as the terms of it were fixed in the
covenant of the mediator, and as it was declared in the promise, was
confirmed, ratified, and made irrevocable thereby. This our apostle
insists upon at large, Heb. ix. 15-20 ; and he compares his blood, in
his death and sacrifice of himself, unto the sacrifices and their blood
whereby the old covenant was confirmed, purified, dedicated, or esta-
blished, verses 18, 19. Now, these sacrifices did not procure that
covenant, or prevail with God to enter into it, but only ratified and
confirmed it ; and this was done in the new covenant by the blood
of Christ.
^dhj. He thereby underwent and performed all that which, in
the righteousness and wisdom of God, was required ; that the efi-'ects,
fruits, benefits, and grace, intended, designed, and prepared in the
new covenant, might be effectually accomplished and communicated
unto sinners. Hence, although \\e p)rocured not the covenant for us
by his death, yet he was, in his person, mediation, life, and death, the
only cause and means whereby the whole grace of the covenant is
made effectual unto us. For, —
odly. All the benefits of it were procured by him ; — that is, all
VOL. V. 13
194 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the grace, mercy, privileges, and glory, that God hath prepared in
the counsel of his will, that were fixed as unto the way of this com-
munication in the covenant of the mediator, and proposed in the
promises of it, are purchased, merited, and procured by his death ;
and effectually communicated or applied unto all the covenanters by
virtue thereof, with others of his mediatory acts. And this is much
more an eminent procuring of the new covenant than what is pre-
tended about the procurement of its terms and conditions ; for if
he should have procured no more but this, — if we owe this only
unto his mediation, that God would thereon, or did, grant and esta-
blish this rule, law, and promise, that whoever believed should be
saved, — it were possible that no one should be saved thereby ; yea,
if he did no more, considering our state and condition, it was impos-
sible that any one should so be.
To give the sum of these things, it is inquired with respect unto
which of these considerations of the new covenant it is affirmed that
it was procured by the death of Christ. If it be said that it is with
respect unto the actual communication of all the grace and glory
prepared in the covenant, and proposed unto us in the promises of
it, it is most true. All the grace and glory promised in the cove-
nant were purchased for the church by Jesus Christ. In this sense,
by his- death he procured the new covenant. This the whole Scrip-
ture, from the beginning of it in the first promise unto the end of it,
doth bear witness unto ; for it is in him alone that " God blesseth
us with all spiiitual blessings in heavenly things." Let all the good
things that are mentioned or promised in the covenant, expressly or
by just consequence, be summed up, and it will be no hard matter
to demonstrate concerning them all, and that both jointly and seve-
rally, that they were all jyrocured for us by the obedience and death
of Christ.
But this is not that which is intended ; for most of this opinion do
deny that the grace of the covenant, in conversion unto God, the re-
mission of sins, sanctification, justification, adoption, and the like,
are the effects or procurements of the death of Christ. And they
do, on the other hand, declare that it is God's making of the cove-
nant which they do intend; that is, the contrivance of the terms
and conditions of it, with their proposal unto mankind for their re-
covery. But herein there is ohhh uyisg. For, —
(1.) The Lord Christ himself, and the whole work of his media-
tion, as the ordinance of God for the recovery and salvation of lost
sinners, is the first and ptrincipal promise of the covenant; so his
exhibition in the flesh, his work of mediation therein, with our de-
liverance thereby, was the subject of that first promise, which virtu-
ally contained this whole covenant : so he was of the renovation of
SURETISHIP. 195
it unto Abraham, when it was solemnly confirmed by the oath of
God, Gal. iii. 1 6, 1 7. And Christ did not by his death procure the
promise of his death, nor of his exhibition in the flesh, or his coming
into the world that he might die.
(2.) The making of this covenant is everywhere in the Scripture
ascribed (as is also the sending of Christ himself to die) unto the love,
grace, and wisdom of God alone ; nowhere unto the death of Christ,
as the actual communication of all grace and glory are. Let all the
places be considered, where either the giving of the promise, the
sending of Christ, or the making of the covenant, are mentioned,
either expressly or virtually, and in none of them are they assigned
unto any other cause but the grace, love, and wisdom of God alone ;
all to be made effectual unto us by the mediation of Christ.
(3.) The assignation of the sole end of the death of Christ to be
the 2>f'ocurement of the neiu covenant, in the sense contended for,
doth indeed evacuate all the virtue of the death of Christ and of the
covenant itself; for, — First, The covenant which they intend is no-
thing but the constitution and proposal of new terms and conditions
for life and salvation unto all men. Now, whereas the acceptance
and accomplishment of these conditions depend upon the Avills of
men no way determined by effectual grace, it was possible that, not-
withstanding all Christ did by his death, yet no one sinner might be
saved thereby, but that the whole end and design of God therein
might be frustrated. Secondly, Whereas the substantial advantage
of these conditions lieth herein, that God will now, for the sake of
Christ, accept of an obedience inferior unto that required in the law,
and go as that the grace of Christ doth not raise up all things unto
a conformity and compliance with the holiness and will of God de-
clared therein, but accommodate all things unto our present condition,
nothing can be invented more dishonourable to Christ and the gos-
pel ; for what doth it else but make Christ the minister of siri, in
disannulling the holiness that the law requires, or the obligation of
the law unto it, without any provision of what might answer or come
into the room of it, but that which is incomparably less worthy? Nor
is it consistent with divine wisdom, goodness, and immutability, to
appoint unto mankind a laiu of obedience, and cast them all under
the severest penalty upon the transgression of it, when he could in
justice and honour have given them such a law of obedience, whose
observance might consist with many failings and sins; for if he have
done that now, he could have done so before : which how far it re-
flects on the glory of the divine properties might be easily mani-
fested. Neither doth this fond imagination comply with those testi-
monies of Scripture, that the Lord Clirist came not to destroy the
law, but to fidjil it ; that he is the end of the law; and that by faith
196 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the law is not disannulled, but established. Lastly, The Lord Christ
was the mediator and surety of the neio covenant, in and by whom
it was ratified, confirmed, and established: and therefore by him
the constitution of it was not procured ; for all the acts of his ofiice
belong unto that mediation, and it cannot be well apprehended how
any act of mediation for the establishment of the covenant, and ren-
dering it effectual, should procure it.
7. But to return from this digression. That wherein all the pre-
cedent causes of the union between Christ and believers, whence they
become one mystical person, do centre, and whereby they are ren-
dered a complete foundation of the imputation of their sins unto
him, and of his righteousness unto them,, is the communication of
his Spirit, the same Spirit that dwelleth in him, unto them, to abide
in, to animate and guide, the whole mystical body and all its mem-
bers. But this hath of late been so much spoken unto, as that I shall
do no more but mention it.
On the considerations insisted on, — whereby the Lord Christ became
one mystical person with the church, or bare the person of the church
in what he did as mediator, in the holy, wise disposal of God as the
author of the law, the supreme rector or governor of all mankind, as
unto their temporal and eternal concernments, and by his own con-
sent,— the sins of all the elect were impided unto him. This having
been the faith and language of the church in all ages, and that de-
rived from and founded on express testimonies of Scripture, with all
the promises and presignations of his exhibition in the flesh from
the beginning, cannot now, with any modesty, be expressly denied.
Wherefore the Socinians themselves grant that our sins may he said
to be imputed unto Christ, and he to undergo the punishment of
them, so far as that all things which befell him evil and afflictive in
this life, with the death which he underwent, were occasioned by
our sins; for had not we sinned, there had been no need of nor
occasion for his suffering. But notwithstanding this concession, they
expressly deny his satisfaction, or that properly he undenvent the
punishment due unto our sins ; wherein they deny also all imputation
of them unto him. Others say that our sins were imputed unto
him " quoad reatum poense," but not " quoad reatum culpse." But
I must acknowledge that unto me this distinction gives "inanem
sine mente sonum." The substance of it is much insisted on by
Feuardentius, Dialog, v. p. 467; and he is followed by others. That
which he would prove l)y it is, that the Lord Christ did not present
himself before the throne of God with the burden of our sins upon
him, so as to answer unto the justice of God for them. Whereas,
therefore, "reatus," or "guilt," may signify either "dignitatem poenae,"
or "obligationem ad poenam," as Bellannine distinguisheth, De Amiss.
SURETISHIP. 197
Grat., lib. vii. cap. 7, with respect unto Christ the latter only is to
be admitted. And the main argument he and others insist upon is
this, — that if our sins be iminited unto Christ, as unto the guilt of
the fault, as they speak, then he must be ijolluted tuith them, and
thence be denominated a sinner in every hind. And this would be
true, if our sins could be communicated unto Christ by transfusion,
so as to be his inherently and subjectively; but their being so only
by imputation gives no countenance unto any such pretence. How-
ever, there is a notion of legal uncleanness, where there is no inherent
defilement; so the priest \vho offered the red heifer to make atone-
ment, and he that burned her, were said to be unclean, Numb. xix.
7, 8. But hereon they say, that Christ died and suffered upon the
special command of God, not that his death and suffering were any
way due upon the account of our sins, or required in justice; which
is utterly to overthrow the satisfaction of Christ.
Wherefore, the design of this distinction is, to deny the imputa-
tion of the guilt of our sins unto Christ; and then in what tolerable
sense can they be said to be imputed unto him, I cannot understand.
But we are not tied up unto arbitrary distinctions, and the sense
that any are pleased to impose on the terms of them. I shall, there-
fore, first inquire into the meaning of these words, guilt and guilty,
whereby we may be able to judge what it is which in this distinc-
tion is intended.
The Hebrews have no other word to signify guilt or guilty but
Ct^'X ■ and this they use both for sin, the guilt of it, the punishment
due unto it, and a sacrifice for it. Speaking of the guilt of blood,
they use not any word to signify ^it^Y^, but only say, ^^ D"^, — "It is blood
to him." So David prays, " Deliver me" Q"'P1P, " from blood;" which
we render " blood -guiltiness," Ps, li. 14. And this was because, by the
constitution of God, he that was guilty of blood was to die by the
hand of the magistrate, or of God himself But ^i?'^ (ascham) is no-
where used for guilt, but it signifies the relation of the sin intended
unto punishment. And other significations of it will be in vain sought
for in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament he that is guilty is .said to be WohiKog,
Rom. iii. 19; that is, obnoxious to judgment or vengeance for sin,
one that ri dixri ^/jc oux s'/adiv, as they speak. Acts xxviii. 4, " whom
vengeance will not suffer to go unpunished ;" — and ho^og, 1 Cor. xi. 27,
a word of the same signification; — once by ofs/Xw, Matt, xxiii. 18, to
owe, to be indebted to justice. To be obnoxious, liable unto justice,
vengeance, punishment for sin, is to be guilty.
" Reus," " guilty," in the Latin is of a large signification. He who
is " crimini obnoxius," or " poenas propter crimen," or " voti debitor,"
or " promissi," or " officii ex sponsione," is called " reus." Especially
198 ON JUSTIFICATION.
every sponsor or surety is "reus" in the law. " Cum servus pecu-
niam pro libertate pactus est, et ob earn rem, reum dederit," (that is,
" sponsorem, expromissorem,") " quamvis servus ab alio manumissus
est, reus tamen obligabitur." He is " reus," who engageth himself
for any other, as to the matter of his engagement; and the same is
the use of the word in the best Latin authors. " Opportuna loca
dividenda prgefectis esse ac suae quique partis tutandas reus sit," Liv.
De Bello Punic, lib. v. 30 ; — that every captain should so take care of
the station committed to him, as that if any thing happened amiss it
should be imputed unto him. And the same author again, " An, qui-
cunque aut propinquitate, aut affinitate, regiam aut aliquibus minis -
teriis contigissent, alienee culpge rei trucidarentur," B. P., lib. iv. 22;
— should be guilty of the fault of another (by imputation), and suffer
for it. So that in the Latin tongue he is " reus," who, for himself
or any other, is obnoxious unto punishment or payment.
" Reatus" is a word of late admission into the Latin tongue, and
was formed of " reus." So Quintilian informs us, in his discourse of
the use of obsolete and new words, lib. viii., cap. 3, " Quse Vetera nunc
sunt, fueruut olim nova, et qusedam in usu perquam recentia ; ut, Mes-
sala primus reatum, munerarium Augustus primus, dixerat;" — to
which he adds " piratica, musica," and some others, then newly come
into use : but " reatus" at its first invention was of no such signification
as it is now applied unto. I mention it only to show that we have
no reason to be obliged unto men's arbitrary use of words. Some
lawyers first used it " pro crimine," — a fault exposing unto punish-
ment ; but the original invention of it, confirmed by long use, was to
express the outward state and condition of him who was " reus,"
after he was first charged in a cause criminal, before he was acquitted
or condemned. Those among the Romans who were made " rei" by
any public accusation did betake themselves unto a poor squalid
habit, a sorrowful countenance, suffering their hair and beards to go
undressed. Hereby, on custom and usage, the people who were to
judge on their cause were inclined to compassion : and Milo furthered
his sentence of banishment because he would not submit to this cus-
tom, which had such an appearance of pusillanimity and baseness of
spirit. This state of sorroiu and trouble, so expressed, they called
" reatus," and nothinof else. It came afterward to denote their state
who were committed unto custody in order unto their trial, when the
government ceased to hepojndar; wherein alone the other artifice was
of use : and if this word be of any use in our present argument, it is
to express the state of men after conviction of sin, before their justi-
fication. That is their " reatus," the condition wherein the proudest
of them cannot avoid to express their inward sorrow and anxiety of
mind by some outward evidences of them. Beyond this we are not
SURETISHIP. 199
obliged by the use of this word, but must consider the thing itself
which now we intend to express thereby.
Guilt, in the Scripture, is the 7'espect of sin unto the sanction of
the law, whereby the sinner becomes obnoxious unto punishment;
and to be guilty is to be vmdixog tw ©soS* — liable unto punishment for
sin from God, as the supreme lawgiver and judge of all. And so
guilt, or " reatus," is well defined to be " obligatio ad poenam, propter
culpam, aut admissam in se, aut imputatum, juste aut injuste;" for
so Bathsheba says unto David, that she and her son Solomon should
be Q^Jj^l^ri, — sinners; that is, be e&ie&med. guilty, or liable unto punish-
ment for some evil laid unto theu* charge, 1 Kings i. 21. And the
distinction of " dignitas poeme" and " obligatio ad poenam" is but
the same thing in diverse words ; for both do but express the relation
of sin unto the sanction of the law : or if they may be conceived to
differ, yet are they inseparable ; for there can be no " obligatio ad
poenam" where there is not " dignitas poense."
Much less is there any thing of weight in the distinction of " rea-
tus culpa; " and " reatus poense;" for this " reatus culpoe" is nothing
but " dignitas poenge propter culpam." Sin hath other considera-
tions,— namely, its formal nature, as it is a transgression of the law,
and the stain of filth that it brings upon the soul ; but the guilt of it
is nothing but its respect unto punishment from the sanction of the
law. And so, indeed, "reatus culpse" is "reatus pcense," — the guilt
of sin is its desert of punishment. And where there is not this
" reatus culpse" there can be no "poena," no punishment properly so
called; for " poena" is " vin dicta noxae," — the revenge due to sin.
So, therefore, there can be no punishment, nor " reatus poence," the
guilt of it, but where there is " reatus culpse," or sin considered with
its guilt ; and the " reatus poenae " that may be supposed without the
guilt of sin, is nothing but that ohnoxiousness unto afiictive evil on
the occasion of sin which the Socinians admit with respect unto the
suffering of Christ, and yet execrate his satisfaction.
And if this distinction should be apprehended to be of " reatus,"
from its formal respect unto sin and punishment, it must, in both
parts of the distinction, be of the same signification, otherwise there
is an equivocation in the subject of it. But "reatus pcense" is a
liableness, an ohnoxiousness unto punishment according to the sen-
tence of the law, that whereby a sinner becomes vmdr/.og rw ©sf
and then " reatus culpse" must be an ohnoxiousness unto sin; which
is uncouth. There is, therefore, no imputation of sin where there is
no imputation of its guilt ; for the guilt of punishment, which is not
its respect unto the desert of sin, is a plain fiction, — there is no such
thing " in rerum natura." There is no guilt of sin, but in its rela-
tion unto punishment.
200 ON JUSTIFICATION.
That, therefore, which we affirm herein is, that our sins were so
transferred on Christ, as that thereby he became ^^^, vmBixog ra
Qsw, "reus," — responsible unto God, and obnoxious unto punish-
ment in the justice of God for them. He was " alienee culpse reus," —
perfectly innocent in himself; but took our guilt on him, or our ob-
noxiousness unto punishment for sin. And so he may be, and may
be said to be, the greatest debtor in the world, who never borrowed
nor owed one farthing on his own account, if he become surety for
the greatest debt of others: so Paul became a debtor unto Philemon,
upon his undertaking for Onesimus, who before owed him nothing.
And two things concurred unto this imputation of sin unto Christ,
— First, The act of God imputing it. Second, The voluntary act of
Christ himself in the undertaking of it, or admitting of the charge.
(1.) The act of God, in this imputation of the guilt of our sins
unto Christ, is expressed by his " laying all our iniquities upon him,"
"making him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," and the like. For, —
[1.] As the supreme governor, law-giver, and judge of all, unto whom
it belonged to take care that his holy law was observed, or the
offenders punished, he admitted, upon the transgression of it, the
sponsion and suretiship of Christ to answer for the sins of men,
Heb. X. 5-7. [2.] In order unto this end, he made him under the
law, or gave the law power over him, to demand of him and inflict
on him the penalty which was due unto the sins of them for whom
he undertook. Gal. iii. 13, iv. 4, 5. [3.] For the declaration of the
righteousness of God in this setting forth of Christ to be a propitia-
tion, and to bear our iniquities, the guilt of our sins was transferred
unto him in an act of the righteous judgment of God accepting and
esteeming of him as the gttiltt/ person; as it is with public sureties in
every case.
(2.) The Lord Christ's voluntary susception of the state and con-
dition of a surety, or undertaker for the church, to appear before the
throne of God's justice for them, to answer whatever was laid unto
their charge, was required hereunto; and this he did absolutely.
There was a concurrence of his own will in and unto all those divine
acts whereby he and the church were constituted one mystical per-
son; and of his own love and gTace did he as our surety stand in our
stead before God, when he made inquisition for sin; — he took it on
himself, as unto the punishment which it deserved. Hence it became
just and righteous that he should suffer, " the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us unto God."
For if this be not so, I desire to know what is become of the
guilt of the sins of believers ; if it were not transferred on Christ, it
remains still upon themselves, or it is nothing. It will be said that
guilt is taken away by iliefree pardon of sin. But if so, there was
SUEETISHir. 201
no need of punishment for it at all, — which is, indeed, what the
Socinians plead, but by others is not admitted, — for if punishment
be not for guilt, it is not punishment.
But it is fiercely objected against what we have asserted, that if the
guilt of our sins was imputed unto Christ, then was he constituted
a sinner thereby ; for it is the guilt of sin that makes any one to be
truly a sinner. This is urged by Bellarmine, lib. ii., De Justificat.,
not for its own sake, but to disprove the imputation of his righteous-
ness unto us; as it is continued by others with the same desig-n. For
saith he, " If we be made righteous, and the children of God,
through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, then was he
made a sinner, ' et quod hon-et animus cogitare, filius diaboli ;' by
the imputation of the guilt of our sins or our unrighteousness unto
him." And the same objection is pressed by others, with instances
of consequences which, for many reasons, I heartily wish had been
forborne. But I answer, —
[1.] Nothing is more absolutely true, nothing is more sacredly or
assuredly believed by us, than that nothing which Christ did or
suffered, nothing that he undertook or underwent, did or could
constitute him subjectively, inherently, and thereon personally, a
sinner, or guilty of any sin of his own. To hear the guilt or blame
of other men's fa^dts, — to be " alienee culpse reus," — makes no man a
sinner, unless he did unwisely or irregularly undertake it. But that
Christ should admit of any thing of sin in himself, as it is absolutely
inconsistent with the hypostatical union, so it would render him
unmeet for all other duties of his office, Heb. vii. 25, 26. And I
confess it hath always seemed scandalous unto me, that Socinus,
Crellius, and Grotius, do grant that, in some sense, Christ suffered
for his own sins, and would prove it from that very place wherein it
is positively denied, chap. vii. 27. This ought to be sacredly fixed,
and not a word used, nor thought entertained, of any possibihty of
the contrary, upon any supposition whatever.
[2.] None ever dreamed of a transfusion or propagation of sin from
us unto Christ, such as there was from Adam unto us. For Adam
was a common person unto us, — we are not so to Christ : yea, he is
so to us ; and the imputation of our sins unto him is a singular act
of divine dispensation, which no evil consequence can ensue upon.
[3.] To imagine such an imputation of our sins unto Christ as that
thereon they should cease to be our sins, and become his absolutely,
is to overthrow that which is affirmed ; for, on that supposition,
Christ could not suffer for our sins, for they ceased to be ours ante-
cedently unto his suffering. But the guilt of them Avas so trans-
ferred unto him, that through his suffering for it, it might be par-
doned unto us.
202 ON JUSTIFICATION.
These things being premised, I say, —
First, There is in sin a transgression of the preceptive part of the
law ; and there is an obnoxiousness unto the punishment from the
sanction of it. It is the first that gives sin its formal nature; and
where that is not subjectively, no person can be constituted /orma%
a sinner. However any one may be so denominated, as unto some
certain end or purpose, yet, without this, formally a sinner none
can be, whatever be imputed unto them. And where that is, no
non-imputation of sin, as unto punishment, can free the person in
whom it is from being formally a sinner. When Bathsheba told
David that she and her son Solomon should be ^''^'^^ (sinners), by
having crimes laid unto their charge; and when Judah told Jacob
that he would be a sinner before liim always on the account of any
evil that befell Benjamin (it should be imputed unto him); yet
neither of them could thereby be constituted a sinner formally.
And, on the other hand, when Shimei desired David not to impute
sin unto him, whereby he escaped present punishment, yet did not
that non-imputation free him formally from being a sinner. Where-
fore sin, under this consideration, as a transgression of the precep-
tive part of the law, cannot be communicated from one imto another,
unless it be by the propagation of a vitiated principle or habit. But
yet neither so will the personal sin of one, as inherent in him, ever
come to be the personal sin of another. Adam hath upon his per-
sonal sin communicated a vicious, depraved, and corrupted nature
imto all his posterity ; and, besides, the guilt of his actual sin is im-
puted unto them, as if it had been committed by every one of them:
but yet his particular personal sin neither ever did, nor ever could,
become the personal sin of any one of them any otherwise than by
the imputation of its guilt unto them. Wherefore our sins neither
are, nor can be, so imputed unto Christ, as that they should become
subjectively Ids, as they are a transgression of the preceptive part of
the law. A physical translation or transfusion of sin is, in this case,
naturally and spmtually impossible; and yet, on a supposition thereof
alone do the horrid consequences mentioned depend. But the guilt
of sin is an external respect of it, with regard unto the sanction of
the law only. This is separable from sin ; and if it were not so, no
one sinner could either be pardoned or saved. It may, therefore, be
made another's by imputation, and yet that other not rendered
formally a sinner thereby. This was that which was imputed unto
Christ, whereby he was rendered obnoxious unto the curse of the
law ; for it was impossible that the law should pronounce any
accursed but the guilty, nor would do so, Deut. xxvii. 26.
Secondly, There is a great difference between the imputation of
the righteousness of Christ unto us and the imputation of our sins
SURETISHIP, 203
^lnto Christ; so as that he cannot in the same manner be said to he
made a sinner by the one as we are made righteous by the other.
For our sin was imputed unto Christ only as he was our surety for a
time, — to this end, that he might take it away, destroy it, and abohsh
it. It was never imputed unto him, so as to make any alteration
absolutely in his personal state and condition. But his righteousness
is imputed unto us to abide with us, to be ours always, and to make
a total change in our state and condition, as unto our relation unto
God. Our sin was imputed unto him only for a season, not abso-
lutely, but as he was a surety, and unto the special end of destroying
it ; and taken on him on this condition, that his righteousness should
be made ours for ever. All things are otherwise in the imputation
of his righteousness unto us, which respects us absolutely, and not
under a temporary capacity, abides with us for ever, changeth our
state and relation unto God, and is an effect of superabounding grace.
But it will be said that if our sins, as to the guilt of them, were
imputed unto Christ, then God must hate Christ; for he hateth the
guilty, I know not well how I come to mention these things, which
indeed I look upon as cavils, such as men may multiply if they please
against any part of the mysteries of the gospel. But seeing it is
mentioned, it may be spoken unto; and, —
First, It is certain that the Lord Christ's taking on him the guilt
of our sins was a high act of obedience unto God, Heb. x. 5, 6; and
for which the "Father loved him," John x, 17, 18, There was,
therefore, no reason why God should hate Clnist for his taking on
him our debt, and the payment of it, in an act of the highest obedi-
ence unto his will. Secondly, God in this matter is considered as a
rector, ruler, and judge. Now, it is not required of the severest
judge, that, as a judge, he should hate the guilty person, no, although
he be guilty originally by inhesion, and not by imputation. As such,
he hath no more to do but consider the guilt, and pronounce the
sentence of punishment. But, Thirdly, Suppose a person, out of an
heroic generosity of mind, should become an Avri-^vyjic, for another,
for his friend, for a good man, so as to answer for him with his life,
as Judah undertook to be for Benjamin as to his liberty, — which,
when a man hath lost, he is civilly dead, and " capite diminutus," —
would the most cruel tyrant under heaven, that should take away his
life, in that case hate him? would he not rather admire his worth and
virtue? As such a one it was that Christ suffered, and no otherwise.
Fourthly, All the force of this exception depends on the ambiguity of
the word hate; for it may signify either an aversation or detestation of
mind, or only a luill of punishing, as in God mostly it doth. In the
first sense, there was no ground why God should hate Christ on this
imputation of guilt unto him, whereby he became " non propria^ sed
204 ON JUSTIFICATION.
alienee culpse reus." Sin inherent renders the soul polluted, abomi-
nable, and the only object of divine aversation ; but for him who
was perfectly innocent, holy, harmless, undefiled in himself, who did
no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth, to take upon him
the guilt of other sins, thereby to comply with and accomplish the
design of God for the manifestation of his glory and infinite wisdom,
grace, goodness, mercy, and righteousness, unto the certain expiation
and destruction of sin, — nothing could render him more glorious and
lovely in the sight of God or man. But for a will of punishing in
God, where sin is imputed, none can deny it, but they must there-
withal openly disavow the satisfaction of Christ.
The heads of some few of those arguments wherewith the truth we
have asserted is confirmed shall close this discourse: —
1. Unless the guilt of sin was imputed unto Christ, sin was not
imputed unto him in any sense, for the punishment of sin is not sin;
nor can those who are otherwise minded declare what it is of sin that
is imputed. But the Scripture is plain, that " God laid on him the
iniquity of us all," and " made him to be sin for us;" which could not
otherwise be but by imputation.
2. There can be no punishment but with respect unto the guilt of
sin personally contracted or imputed. It is guilt alone that gives
what is materially evil and afflictive the formal nature of punish-
ment, and nothing else. And therefore those who understand full
well the harmony of things and opinions, and are free to express their
minds, do constantly declare that if one of these be denied, the other
must be so also ; and if one be admitted, they must both be so. If
guilt was not imputed unto Christ, he could not, as they plead well
enough, undergo the punishment of sin ; much he might do and suf-
fer on the occasion of sin, but undergo the punishment due unto sin
he could not. And if it should be granted that the guilt of sin was
imputed imto him, they will not deny but that he underwent the
punishment of it; and if he underwent the punishment of it, they
will not deny but that the guilt of it was imputed unto him ; for these
things are inseparably related.
3. Christ was made a curse for us, the curse of the law, as is ex-
pressly declared. Gal. iii. 13, 14. But the curse of the law respects
the guilt of sin only; so as that where that is not, it cannot take
place in any sense, and where that is, it doth inseparably attend it,
Deut. xxvii. 26.
4. The express testimonies of the Scripture unto this purpose can-
not be evaded, without an ojDen wresting of their words and sense. So
God is said to " make all our iniquities to meet upon him," and he
bare them on him as his burden; for so the word signifies, Isa. liii. 6,
" God hath laid on him" ^^h. H ^^, " the iniquity," (that is, the guilt)
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 205
" of US all;" verse 1 1, ^301 K^n nn:S]}) , " and tlieir sin or guilt shall he
bear." For that is the intendment of l^V, where joined with any other
word that denotes sin : as it is in those places, Ps. xxxii. 5, " Thou for-
gavest" '•nx^n jij;^ " the iniquity of my sin,"^ — that is, the guilt of it,
which is that alone that is taken away by pardon ; that " his soul
was made an offering for the guilt of sin ;" that " he was made sin;"
that " sin was condemned in his flesh," etc.
5. This was represented in all the sacrifices of old, especially the
great anniversary [one], on the day of expiation, with the ordinance
of the scape-goat ; as hath been before declared.
6. Without a supposition hereof it cannot be understood how the
Lord Christ should be our Avri-^w^og, or suffer dvTi 7],ujSjv, in our stead,
unless we will admit the exposition of Mr Ho, a late writer, who,
reckoning up how many things the Lord Christ did in our stead,
adds, as the sense thereof, that it is to bestead us; than which, if he
can invent any thing more fo7id and senseless, he hath a singular
faculty in such an employment.
CHAPTER rX.
The formal cause of justification, or the righteousness on the account whereof
believers are justified before God — Objections answered.
The principal differences about the doctrine of justification are
reducible unto three heads: — 1. The nature of it, — namely, whether
it consist in an internal change of the person justified, by the infu-
sion of a habit of inherent grace or righteousness ; or whether it be
a forensic act, in the judging, esteeming, declaring, and pronounc-
ing such a person to be righteous, thereon absolving him from all
his sins, giving unto him right and title unto life. Herein we
have to do only with those of the church of Rome, all others,
both Protestants and Socinians, being agreed on the forensic sense of
the word, and the nature of the thing signified thereby. And this I
have already spoken unto, so far as our present design doth requu'e;
and that, I hope, with such evidence of truth as cannot well be gain-
sayed. Nor may it be supposed that we have too long insisted
thereon, as an opinion which is obsolete, and long since sufficiently
confuted. I think much otherwise, and that those who avoid the
Romanists in these controversies, will give a greater appearance of
fear than of contempt; for when all is done, ii free justification
through the blood of Christ, and the imputation of his righteousness,
206 ON JUSTIFICATION.
be not able to preserve its station in the minds of men, the Popisli
doctrine of justification must and will return upon the world, with
all the concomitants and consequences of it. Whilst any knowledge
of the law or gospel is continued amongst us, the consciences of men
•sdll at one time or other, living or dying, be really affected with a
sense of sin, as unto its guilt and danger. Hence that trouble and
those disquietments of mind will ensue, as will force men, be they
never so unwilling, to seek after some relief and satisfaction. And
what will not men attempt who are reduced to the condition ex-
pressed, Mic. vL 6, 7? Wherefore, in this case, if the true and only
relief of distressed consciences of sinnei-s who are weaiy and heavy-
laden be hid from their eyes, — if they have no apprehension of, nor
trust in, that which alone they may oppose imto the sentence of the
law, and intei-pose between God's justice and their souls, wherein
they may take shelter from the storms of that -wrath which abideth
on them that believe not, — they will betake themselves unto any
thing which confidently tenders them present ease and relief Hence
manv persons, hving all their days in an ignorance of the righteous-
ness of God, are oftentimes on their sick-beds, and in their d}-ing
hours, proselvted unto a confidence in the ways of rest and peace
which the Komanists impose upon them; for such seasons of advan-
tage do they wait for, unto the reputation, as they suppose, of their
own zeal, — in truth unto the scandal of Christian religion. But finding
at any time the consciences of men under disquietments, and ignorant
of or disbeheving that heavenly rehef which is pro\dded in the gos-
pel, they are ready with their applications and medicines, ha\-ing on
them pretended approbations of the experience of many ages, and an
innumerable company of devout souls in them. Such is their doc-
trine of justification, with the addition of those other ingredients of
confession, absolution, penances, or commutations, aids from saints
and angels, especially the blessed Virgin; all warmed by the fire of
purgatory, and confidently administered unto persons sick of igno-
rance, darkness, and sin. And let none please themselves in the con-
tempt of these things. If the truth concerning evangelical justifica-
tion be once disbeheved among us, or obliterated by any artifices out
of the minds of men, unto these things, at one time or other, they
must and will betake themselves. As for the new schemes and projec-
tions of justification, which some at present would supply us withal,
they are no way suited nor able to give relief or satisfaction unto a
conscience really troubled for sin, and seriously inquiring how it may
have rest and peace with God. I shall take the boldness, therefore,
to say, whoever be ofiended at it, that if ive lose the ancient doc-
trine of justificaiion through faith in the blood of Christ, and the
imputation of his righteousness unto us, public profession of religion
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 207
will quickly issue in Popery or Atheism, or at least in wliat is the
next door unto it, — xa/ ravra [ih hn rotZra.
2. The second principal controversy is about the formal cause of
justification, as it is expressed and stated by those of tlie Roman
church; and under these terms some Protestant divines have con-
sented to debate the matter in difference. I shall not interpose into
a strife of words ; — so the Romanists will call that which we inquire
after. Some of ours say the righteousness of Christ imputed, some,
the imputation of tlie righteousness of Christ, is the formal cause of
our justification; some, that there is no formal cause of justification,
but this is that which supplies the place and use of a formal cause,
which is the righteousness of Christ. In none of these things will I
concern myself, though I judge what was mentioned in the last place
to be most proper and significant.
The substance of the inquiry wherein alone we are concerned, is.
What is that righteousness luherehy and ivherewith a believing sin-
ner is justified before God; or whereon he is accepted with God,
hath his sins pardoned, is received into grace and favour, and hath a
title given him unto the heavenly inheritance ? I shall no otherwise
propose this inquiry, as knowing that it contains the substance of
what convinced sinners do look after in and by the gospel.
And herein it is agreed by all, the Socinians only excepted, that
the procatarctical^ or procuring cause of the pardon of our sins and
acceptance with God, is the satisfaction and merit of Christ. How-
beit, it cannot be denied but that some, retaining the names of them,
do seem to renounce or disbelieve the things themselves; but we
need not to take any notice thereof, until they are free more plainly
to express their minds. But as concerning the righteousness itself
inquired after, there seems to be a difference among them who yet
all deny it to be the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us. For
those of the Roman chiu-ch plainly say, that upon the infusion of a
habit of grace, with the expulsion of sin, and the renovation of our
natures thereby, which they call the first justification, we are actually
justified before God by our own works of righteousness. Hereon
they dispute about the merit and satisfactoriness of those works, with
their condignity of the reward of eternal life. Others, as the Soci-
nians, openly disclaim all merit in our works; only some, out of
reverence, as I suppose, unto the antiquity of the word, and under the
shelter of the ambiguity of its signification, have faintly attempted
an accommodation with it. But in the substance of what they assert
unto this purpose, to the best of my understanding, they ai'e all agreed :
' From -xfUKaTOLfy^u,, — pre-existing, or predisposing. The term is now confined to
medical science, and employed to distinguish a predisposing from an immediate
aiid exciting cause to disease or fever Ed.
208 ON JUSTIFICATION.
for what the Papists call "jnstitia operiim," — the righteousness of
works, — they call a personal, inherent, evangelical righteousness;
whereof we have spoken before. And whereas the Papists say that
this righteousness of works is not absolutely perfect, nor in itself able
to justify us iu the sight of God, but owes all its worth and dignity
unto this purpose unto the merit of Christ, they affirm that this
evangelical righteousness is the condition whereon we enjoy the
benefits of the righteousness of Christ, in the pardon of our sins, and
the acceptance of our persons before God. But as unto those who
will acknowledge no other righteousness wherewith we are justified
before God, the meaning is the same, whether we say that on the
condition of this righteousness we are made partakers of the benefits
of the righteousness of Christ, or that it is the righteousness of Christ
which makes this righteousness of ours accepted with God. But
these things must afterward more particularly be inquured into.
S. The third inquiry wherein there is not an agreement in this
matter is, — upon a supposition of a necessity that he who is to be
justified should, one way or other, he t7iiere5iecZ in the righteousness of
Christ, what it is that on our part is required- thereunto. This some
say to be fe,itli alone; others, faith and works also, and that in the
same kind of necessity and use. That whose consideration we at
present undertake is the second thing proposed ; and, indeed, herein
lies the substance of the whole controversy about our justification
before God, upon the determination and stating whereof the deter-
Z 'nation of all other incident questions doth depend.
This, therefore, is that which herein I affirm : — The righteousness of
U/irist (in his obedience and suffering for us) imputed unto believers,
as they are united unto him by his Spirit, is that righteousness
whereon they are justified before God, on the account whereof their
sins ore pardoned, and a right is granted them unto the heavenly
inheritance.!
This position is such as wherein the substance of that doctrine, in
this important article of evangelical truth which we plead for, is plainly
and fully expressed. And I have chosen the rather thus to express
it, because it is that thesis wherein the learned Daveuant laid down
that common doctrine of the Reformed churches whose defence he
undertook. This is the shield of truth in the whole cause of justifi-
cation ; which, whilst it is preserved safe, we need not trouble ourselves
about the differences that are among learned men about the most
proper stating and declaration of some lesser concernments of it.
This is the refuge, the only refuge, of distressed consciences, wherein
they may find rest and peace.
For the confirmation of this assertion, I shall do these three
things: — I. Reflect on what is needful unto the explanation of
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 209
it. II. Answei' the most important general objections against
it. III. Prove the truth of it by arguments and testimonies of the
holy Scripture.
I. As to the first of these, or what is necessary unto the explana-
tion of this assertion, it hath been sufficiently spoken unto in our
foregoing discourses. The heads of some things only shall at present
be called over.
1. The foundation of the imputation asserted is union. Hereof
there are many grounds and causes, as hath been declared; but that
which we have immediate respect unto, as the foundation of this
imputation, is that whereby the Lord Christ and believers do actually
coalesce into one mystical person. This is by the Holy Spirit inhabit-
ing in him as the head of the church in all fulness, and in all believers
according to their measure, whereby they become members of his
mystical body. That there is such a union between Christ and be-
lievers is the faith of the catholic church, and hath been so in all
ages. Those who seem in our days to deny it, or question it, either
know not what they say, or their minds are influenced by their doc-
trine who deny the divine persons of the Son and of the Spirit.
Upon supposition of this union, reason will grant the imputation
pleaded for to be reasonable; at least, that there is such a peculiar
ground for it as is not to be exemplified in any things natural or
political among men.
2. The nature of imputation hath been fully spoken unto before,
and thereunto I refer the reader for the understanding of what is
intended thereby.
3. That which is imputed is the rigJiteousness of Christ; and,
briefly, I understand hereby his whole obedience unto God, in all that
he did and suffered for the church. This, I say, is imputed unto
behevers, so as to become their only righteousness before God unto
the justification of life.
TTbeyond these things any expressions have been made use of, in
the explanation of this truth, which have given occasion unto any
differences or contests, although they may be true and defensible
against objections, yet shall not I concern myself in them. The
substance of the truth as laid down, is that whose defence I have
undertaken ; and where that is granted or consented unto, I will not
contend with any about their way and methods of its declaration,
nor defend the terms and expressions that have by any been made
use of therein. For instance, some have said that'^' what Christ did
and suffered is so imputed unto us, as that we are judged and
esteemed in the sight of God to have done or suffered ourselves in
him.'V This I shall not concern myself in ; for although it may have
a s(mnd sense given unto it, and is used by some of the ancients, yet
YOL. V. 11
210 ON JUSTIFICATION.
- because offence is taken at it, and the substance of tbe truth Ave plead
v.--\\'-^'^\for is better otherwise expressed, it ought not to be contended about.
>--'^ /For we do not say that God judgeth or esteemeth that we did and
suffered in our own persons what Christ did and suffered; but only
that he did it and suffered it in our stead. Hereon God makes a
grant and ' donation of it untp believers upon their believing, unto
their justification l)efore him..^'And the like may be said of many other
expressions of the like natiure.
11. These things being premised, I proceed unto the consideration
of the general objections that are urged against the imputation we
plead for: and I shall insist only on some of the principal of them,
and whereinto all others may be resolved; for it were endless to go
over all that any man's invention can suggest unto him of this kind.
And some general considerations we must take along with us herein ;
as, —
1. The doctrine of justification is a part, yea, an eminent part, of
the mystery of the gospel. It is no marvel, therefore, if it be not so
exposed unto the common notions of reason as some would have it
to be. There is more required unto the true spiritual understanding
of such mysteries ; yea, unless we intend to renounce the gospel, it
must be asserted that reason as it is corrupted, and the mind of man as
destitute of divine, supernatural revelation, do dislike every such truth,
and rise up in enmity against it. So the Scripture directly affirms,
Rom. \T.ii. 7; 1 Cor. ii. 14.
2. Hence are the minds and inventions of men wonderfully fertile
in coining objections against evangelical truths, and raising cavils
against them. Seldom to this purpose do they want an endless num-
ber of sophistical objections, which, because they know no better,
they themselves judge insoluble; for carnal reason being once set at
liberty, under the false notion of truth, to act itself fi^eely and boldly
against spiritual mysteries, is subtile in its arguings, and pregnant in
its invention of them. How endless, for instance, are the sophisms
of the Socinians against the doctrine of the Trinity ! and how do they
triumph in them as unanswerable I Under the shelter of them they
despise the force of the most evident testimonies of the Scripture,
and those multiplied on all occasions. In like manner they deal with
the doctrine of the satisfaction of Christ, as the Pelagians of old did
with that of his grace. Wherefore, he that will be startled at the
appearance of subtile or plausible objections against any gospel mys-
teries that are plainly revealed, and sufficiently attested in the Scrip-
ture, is not likely to come unto much stability in his profession of
them.
3. The most of the objections which are levied against the truth
in this cause do arise from the want of a due comprehension of the
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 211
order of the work of God's grace, and of our compliance therewithal
in a way of duty, as was before observed; for they consist in oppos-
ing those things one to another as inconsistent, which, in their pro-
per place and order, are not only consistent, but muUially siihse7'vient
unto one another, and are found so in the experience of them that
truly believe. Instances hereof have been given before, and others
will immediately occur. Taking the consideration of these things
with us, we may see as the rise, so of what force the objections are.
4. Let it be considered that the objections which are made use of
against the tnith we assert, are all of them taken from certain con-
sequences which, as it is supposed, will ensue on the admission of it.
And as this is the only expedient to perpetuate controversies and
make them endless, so, to my best observation, I never yet met with
any one but that, to give an appearance of force unto the absurdity
of the consequences from whence he argues, he framed his supposi-
tions, or the state of the question, unto the disadvantage of them
whom he opposed; a course of proceeding which I wonder good men
are not either weary or ashamed of
1. It is objected, " That the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ doth overthrow all remission of sins on the part of God." This
is pleaded for by Socinus, De Servatore, lib. iv. cap. 2-4; and by
others it is also made use of A confident charge this seems to them
who steadfastly believe that without this iminitation there could be
no remission of sin. But they say, " That he who hath a righteous-
ness imputed unto him that is absolutely perfect, so as to be made
his own, needs no pardon, hath no sin that should be forgiven, nor
can he ever need forgiveness." But because this objection will occur
unto us again in the vindication of one of our ensuins^ arsfuments, I
shall here speak briefly unto it : —
(1.) Grotius shall answer this objection. Saith he, " Cum duo no-
bis peperisse Christum dixerimus, impunitatem et praemium, illud
satisfactioni, hoc merito Christi distincte tribuit vetus ecclesia. Sa-
tisfactio consistit in peccatorum translatione, meritum in perfectis-
simjB obedientise pro nobis preestitse imputatione," Prjefat. ad lib.
de Satisfact. ; — " Whereas we have said that Christ hath procured or
brought forth two things for us, — freedom from punishment, and a
reward, — the ancient church attributes the one of them distinctly unto
his satisfaction, the other unto his merit. Satisfaction consisteth in
the translation of sins (from us unto him); merit, in the imputation of
his most perfect obedience, performed for us, unto us." In his judg-
ment, the remission of sins and the imputation of righteousness were
as consistent as the satisfaction and merit of Christ; as indeed they
are.
(2.) Had we not been sinners, we should have had no need of tlie
•^
212 ON JUSTIFICATION.
imputation of tlie righteousness of Christ to render us righteous be-
fore God. Being so, the first end for wliich it is imputed is the par-
don of sin; without which we could not be righteous by the impu-
tation of the most perfect righteousness. These things, therefore, are
consistent, — namely, that the satisfaction of Christ should be imputed
unto us for the pardon of sin, and the obedience of Clurist be imputed
unto us to render us righteous before God ; and they are not only
consistent, but neither of them singly were sufficient unto our justi-
fication.
"2. It is pleaded by the same author, and others, " That the impu-
tation of the righteousness of Christ overthroweth all necessity of
repentance for sin, in order unto the remission or pardon thereof,
yea, rendereth it altogether needless; for what need hath he of re-
pentance for sin, who, by the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, is esteemed completely just and righteous in the sight of
God? If Christ satisfied for all sins in the person of the elect, if
as our surety he paid all our debts, and if his righteousness be made
ours before we repent, then is all repentance needless." And these
things are much enlarged on by the same author in the place before
mentioned.
Ans. (1.) It must be remembered that we require evangelical ftiith,
in order of nature, antecedently unto our justification by the imputa-
tion of the righteousness of Christ unto us; which also is the condi-
tion of its continuation. Wherefore, whatever is necessary there-
unto is in like manner required of us in order unto believing.
Amongst these, there is a sorrow for sin, and a repentance of it;
for whosoever is convinced of sin in a due manner, so as to be sen-
sible of its evil and guilt, — both as in its own nature it is contrary
unto the preceptive part of the holy law, and in the necessary conse-
quences of it, in the wrath and curse of God, — cannot but be per-
plexed in his mind that he hath involved himself therein; and that
posture of mind will be accompanied with shame, fear, sorrow, and
other afflictive passions. Hereon a resolution doth ensue utterly to
abstain from it for the future, with sincere endeavours unto that
purpose ; issuing, if there be time and space for it, in reformation of
life. And in a sense of sin, sorrow for it, fear concerning it, absti-
nence from it, and reformation of life, a repentance true in its kind
doth consist. This repentance is usually called legal, because its
motives are principally taken from the law; but yet there is, more-
over, required unto it that temporary faith of the gospel which we
have before described; and as it doth usually produce great effects,
in the confession of sin, humiliation for it, and change of life (as in
Ahab and the Ninevites), so ordinarily it precedet'h true saving faith,
and justification thereby. Wherefore, the necessity hereof is no way
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 213
weakened by the doctrine of the miputation of the righteousness of
Christ, yea, it is strengthened and made efiectnal thereby; for with-
out it, in the order of the gospel, an interest therein is not to be
attained. And this is that which, in the Old Testament, is so often
proposed as the means and condition of turning away the judgments
and punishments threatened unto sin; for it is true and sincere in
its kind. Neither do the Socinians require any other repentance unto
justification; for as they deny true evangelical repentance in all the
especial causes of it, so that which may and doth precede faith in
order of nature is all that they require. This objection, therefore, as
managed by them, is a causeless, vain pretence.
(2.) Justifying faith includeth in its nature the entire principle of
evangelical repentance, so as that it is utterly impossible that a man
should be a true believer, and not, at the same instant of time, be
truly jyenitent; and therefore are they so frequently conjoined in the
Scripture as one simultaneous duty. Yea, the call of the gospel unto
repentance is a -call to faith acting itself by repentance : so the sole
reason of that call unto rej)entance which the forgiveness of sins is
annexed unto. Acts ii. 88, is the proposal of the promise which is
the object of faith, verse 39. And those conceptions and affections
wliich a man hath about sin, with a sorrow for it and repentance of
it, upon a legal conviction, being enlivened and made evangelical by
the introduction of faith as a new principle of them, and giving new
motives unto them, do become evangelical; so impossible is it that
faith should be without repentance. Wherefore, although the first
act of faith, and its only proper exercise unto justification, doth re-
spect the grace of God in Christ, and the way of salvation by him,
as proposed in the promise of the gospel, yet is not this conceived in
order of time to precede its actings in self-displicency, godly so7'row,
and universal conversion from sin unto God ; nor can it be so, see-
ing it virtually and radically containeth all of them in itself. How-
ever, therefore, evangeUcal repentance is not the condition of our
justification, so as to have any direct influence thereinto ; nor are
we said anywhere to be justified by repentance; nor is conversant
about the proper object which alone the soul respects therein ; nor
is a direct and immediate giving glory unto God on the account of
the way and work of his wisdom and grace in Christ Jesus, but a
consequent thereof; nor is that reception of Chi'ist which is ex-
pressly required unto our justification, and which alone is required
thereunto ; — yet is it, m the root, principle, and promptitude of mind
for its exercise, in every one that is justified, then when he is justi-
fied. And it is peculiarly proposed with respect unto the forgiveness
of sins, as that without which it is impossible we should have any
true sense or comfort of it in our souls; but it is not so as any \)i\it
214 ox JUSTIFICATION.
of that righteousness on the consideration wliereof our sins are par-
doned, nor as that whereby we have an interest therein. These
things are plain in the divine method of our justification, and the
order of our duty prescribed in the gospel ; as also in the experience of
them that do believe. Wherefore, considering the necessity of legal
repentance unto believing ; with the sanctification of the affections
exercised therein by faith, whereby they are made evangelical; and
the nature of faith, as including in it a principle of universal con-
version unto God ; and in especial, of that repentance which hath for
its principal motive the love of God and of Jesus Christ, with the
gi"ace from thence communicated, — all which are supposed in the doc-
trine pleaded for; the necessity of true repentance is immovably
fixed on its proper foundation.
(3.) As unto what was said in the objection concerning Christ's S2if-
fering in the person of ths elect, I know not whether any have used
it or no, nor will I contend about it. He suffered in their stead ;
which all sorts of writers, ancient and modem, so express, — in his suf-
,fering he hare the person of the church. The meaning is what was
before declared. Christ and believers are one mystical person, one
spiritually- animated body, head and members. This, I suppose, Avill
not be denied ; to do so, is to overtlurow the church and the faith of
it. Hence, what he did and suffered is imputed unto them. And
it is granted that, as the surety of the covenant, he paid all our debts,
or answered for all our faults ; and that his righteousness is really
communicated unto us. "Why, then," say some, " there is no need of
repentance; all is done for us already." But why so? why must we
assent to one part of the gospel unto the exclusion of another? Was
it not free unto God to appoint what way, method, and order he
would, whereby these things should be communicated unto us? Nay,
upon the supposition of the design of his wisdom and grace, these
two things were necessary : —
[1.] That this righteousness of Christ should be communicated
unto us, and be made ours, in such a way and manner as that he
himself might be glorified therein, seeing he hath disposed all things,
in this whole economy, unto " the praise of the glory of his grace,"
Eph. i. 6. This was to be done by faith, on our part. It is so; it
could be no otherwise : for that faith whereby we are justified is our
i::iving unto God the glory of his wisdom, grace, and love ; and what-
ever doth so is faith, and nothing else is so.
[2.] That whereas our nature was so corrupted and depraved as
that, continuing in that state, it was not capable of a participation of
the righteousness of Christ, or any benefit of it, unto the glory of
God and our own good, it was in like manner necessary that it should
be reneived and changed. And unless it were so, the design of God
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 215
in the mediation of Christ, — which was the entire recovery of us unto
himself, — could not be attained. And therefore, as faith, under the
formal consideration of it, was necessaiy unto the first end, — namely,
that of givmg glory unto God, — so unto this latter end it was neces-
saiy that this faith should be accompanied Avith, yea, and contain in
itself, the seeds of all those other graces wherein the divine nature
doth consist, whereof we are to be made partakers. Not only, there-
fore, the thing itself, or the communication of the righteousness of
Christ unto us, but the way, and manner, and means of it, do de-
pend on God's sovereign order and disposal. Wherefore, although
Christ did maike satisfaction to the justice of God for all the sins of
iive church, and that as a common person (for no man in his wits can
deny but that he who is a mediator and a surety is, in some sense, a
common person); and although he did pay all our debts; yet 'doth the
particular interest of this or that man in what he did and suffered
depend on the way, means, and order designed of God unto that end.
This, and this alone, gives the true necessity of all the duties which
are required of us, with their order and their ends.
o. It is objected, " That the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, which we defend, overthrows the necessity of faith itself."
This is ho7ne indeed. " Aliquid adha3rebit" is the design of all these
o})jections; but they have reason to plead for themselves who make
it. " For on this supposition," they say, " the righteousness of Christ
is ours before we do believe ; for Christ satisfied for all our sins, as if
Ave had satisfied in our own persons. And he Avho is esteemed to
have satisfied for all his sins in his oa\ti person is acquitted from
them all and accounted just, whether he believe or no ; nor is there
any ground or reason Avhy he should be required to believe. If,
therefore, the righteousness of Christ be really ours, because, in the
judgTuent of God, we are esteemed to have AVTOught it in him, then it.
is ours before we do believe. If it be otherwise, then it is plain that
that righteousness itself can never be made ours by believing; only
the fruits and effects of it may be suspended on our belicAdng, Avhereby
Ave may be made partakers of them. Yea, if Christ made any such
satisfaction for us as is pretended, it is really ours, Avithout any far-
ther imputation ; for, being performed for us and in our stead, it is
the highest injustice not to have us accounted pardoned and acquitted,
Avithout any farther, either imputation on the part of God or faith on
ours." These things I have transcribed out of Socinus, De Serva;t6re,
lib. iv. cap. 2-5 ; Avhich I Avould not have done but that I find others
to have gone before me herein, though to another purpose. And he
concludes Avith a confidence which others also seem, in some measure,
to have learned of him ; for he saith unto his adversary, " Hsec tua,
tuorumque senteutia, adeo foeda et execrabilis est, ut pestilentiorem
21G ON JUSTIFICATION.
errorem post homines natos in populo Dei extitisse non credam," —
speaking of the satisfaction of Christ, and the imputation of it unto
believers. And, indeed, his serpentine wit was fertile in the inven-
tion of cavils against all the mysteries of the gospel. Nor was he
obliged by any one of them, so as to contradict himself in what he op-
posed concerning any other of them ; for, denjdng the deity of Christ,
his satisfaction, sacrifice, merit, righteousness, and overthrowing the
whole nature of his mediation, nothing stood in his way which he
had a mind to oppose. But I somewhat wonder how others can
make use of his inventions in this kind ; who, if they considered aright
their proper tendency, they will find them to be absolutely destruc-
tive of what they seem to own. So it is in this present objection
against the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, If it hath any
force in it, as indeed it hath not, it is to prove that the satisfaction of
Christ was impossible; and so he intended it. But it will be easily
removed.
I answer, first, in general, that the whole fallacy of this objection
lies in the opposing one part of the design and method of God's grace
in this mystery of our justification unto another ; or the taking of one
})art of it to be the whole, which, as to its efficacy and perfection,
depends on somewhat else. Hereof we warned the reader in our
previous discourses. For the whole of it is a supposition that the
satisfaction of Christ, if there be any such thing, must have its whole
effect without believing on our part ; which is contrary unto the whole
declaration of the will of God in the gospel. But I shall principally
respect them who are pleased to make use of this objection, and yet
do not deny the satisfaction of Christ. And I say, —
(1.) When the Lord Christ died for us, and offered himself as a
propitiatory sacrifice, " God laid all our sins on him," Isa. liii. 6 ; and
he then " bare them all in his own body on the tree," 1 Pet. ii. 24.
Then he suffered in our stead, and made full satisfaction for ail- tDur^-^— -
sins; for he " appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,"
Heb. ix. 26 ; and " by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified," chap. x. 1 4. He whose sins were not actually and
absolutely satisfied for in that one offering of Christ, shall never have
them expiated unto eternity; for " henceforth he dieth no more,"
there is " no more sacrifice for sin." The repetition of a sacrifice for
sin, which must be the crucifying of Christ afresh, overthrows the
foundation of Christian religion.
(2.) Notwithstanding \X\\s,full, plenaru-sntisf action once made for
the sins of the world that shall be saved,%st4ll men continue equally
to b^iorn by nature " children of wi'ath;" and -whilst tliey bejieye
not^ " the wrath of God abideth on them," John iii. 36 ; — that is, they
are obnoxious unto and under the curse of the law. Wherefore, on
rOKMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 217
the only making of that satisfaction, no one for whom it was made
in the design of God can be said to have suffered in Christ, nor to
have an interest in his satisfaction, nor by any way or means be made
partaker of it antecedently unto another act of God in its imputation
unto him. For this is but one part of the purpose of God's grace as
unto our justification by the blood of Christ, — namely, that he by his
death should make satisfaction for our sins; nor is it to be separated
from what also belongs unto it in the same purpose of God. Where-
fore, from the position or grant of the satisfaction of Christ, no argu-
ment can be taken unto the negation of a consequential act of its
imputation unto us; nor, therefore, of the necessity of our faith in
the believing and receiving of it, which is no less the appointment
of God than it was that Christ should make tllaf satisfaction. Where-
fore,—
(3.) That which the Lord Christ paid for us is as truly paid as if
we had paid it ourselves. So he speaks, Ps. Ixix. 5, "'^.?Tri<7 '^^'^«
yt'^ tX. He made no spoil of the glory of God; what was done of
that nature by us, he returned it unto him. And what he under-
went and suffered, he underwent and suffered in our stead. But yet
the act of God in laying our sins on Christ conveyed no actual right
and title to us unto what he did and suffered. They are not imme-
diately thereon, nor by virtue thereof, ours, or esteemed ours ; because
God hath appointed somewhat else, not only antecedent thereunto,
but as the means of it, unto his own glory. These things, both as
unto their being and order, depend on the free ordination of God.
But yet, —
(4.) It cannot be said that this satisfaction was made for us on such
a condition as should absolutely suspend the event, and render it
uncertain whether it should ever be for us or no. Such a constitu-
tion may be righteous in pecuniary solutions. A man may lay down
a great sum of money for the discharge of another, on such a condi-
tion as may never be fulfilled ; for, on the absolute failure of the con-
dition, his money may and ought to be restored unto him, whereon
he hath received no injury or damage. But in penal suffering for
crimes and sins, there can be no righteous constitution that shall make
the event and efficacy of it to depend on a condition absolutely un-
certain, and which may not come to pass or be fulfilled; for if the
condition fail, no recompense can be made unto him that hath suf-
fered. Wherefore, the way of the application of the satisfaction of
Christ unto them for whom it was made, is sm^e and steadfast in the
purjoose of God. .. .-•^>.-^--- — =
(5.) God hath appointed that there shall be an immediate founda-
tion of the imputation of the satisfaction and righteousness of Christ
unto us; whereon we may be said to have done and suffered in him
21 S ON JUSTIFICATION.
what lie did and suffered in our stead, by that grant, donation, and
imputation of it unto us; or that we may be interested in it, that it
may be made ours : which is all we contend for. And this is our actual
coalescency into one inystical 2)erson with liim by faith. Hereon
doth the necessity of faith originally depend. And if we shall add
hereunto the necessity of it likewise unto that especial glory of God
v/hich he designs to exalt in our justification by Christ, as also unto
all the ends of our obedience unto God, and the renovation of our
natures into his image, its station is sufficiently secured against all
objections. O.ur actual interest in the satisfaction of Christ depends'"*
"^ on our actual insertion into his mystical body by faith, according
to the appointment of God.
4. It is yet objected, " That if the righteousness of Christ be made
ours, we may be said to be saviours of the world, as he was, or to
save others, as he did; for he was so and did so by his righteous-
ness, and no otherwise." This objection also is of the same nature
with those foregoing, — a mere sophistical cavil. For, —
(1.) The righteousness of Christ is not transfused into us, so as to
be made inherently and subjectively ours, as it was in him, and which
is necessarily required unto that effect of saving others thereby.
Whatever we may do, or be said to do, with respect unto others, by
virtue of any power or quality inherent in ourselves, we can be said
to do nothing unto others, or for them, by virtue of that which is im-
puted unto us only for our own benefit. That any righteousness of
ours should benefit another, it is absolutely necessary that it should
be ^vrought by ourselves.
(2.) If the righteousness of Christ could be transfused into us, and
be made inherently ours, yet could we not be, nor be said to be, the
saviours of others thereby; for our nature in our individual per-
sons is not " subjectum capax," or capable to receive and retain a
righteousness useful and effectual unto that end. This capacity was
given unto it in Christ by virtue of the hypostatical union, and no
otherwise. The righteousness of Christ himself, as performed in the
human nature, would not have been sufficient for the justification and
salvation of the church, had it not been the righteousness of his per-
son who is both God and man; for " God redeemed his church with
his own blood."
(3.) This imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto us, as unto
its ends and use, hath its measure from the will of God, and his pur-
pose in that imputation; and this is, that it should be the right-
eousness of them unto whom it is imputed, and nothing else.
(4.) We do not say that the righteousness of Christ, as onade abso-
lutely for the whole church, is imputed unto every believer ; but his
satisfaction for every one of them in particular, according unto the
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 219
will of God, is imputed unto them, — not with respect unto its gene-
ral ends, but according unto every one's particular interest. Every
believer hath his own homer of this bread of life ; and all are jus-
tified by the same righteousness.
(5.) The apostle declares, as we shall prove afterward, that as
Adams actual sin is imputed unto us unto condemnation, so is the
obedience of Christ imputed unto us to the justification of life. But
Adam's sin is not so imputed unto any person as that he should then
and thereby be the cause of sin and condemnation unto all other
persons in the world, but only that he himself should become guilty
before God thereon. And so is it on the other side. And as we are
made guilty by Adam's actual sin, which is not inherent in us, but
only imputed unto us ; so are we made righteous by the righteous-
ness of Christ, which is not inherent in us, but only imputed unto
us. And imputed unto us it is, because himself was righteous with
it, not for himself, but for us.
5. It is yet said, " That if we insist on personal imputation unto
every believer of what Christ did, or if any believer be personally
righteous in the very individual acts of Christ's righteousness, many
absurdities will follow." But it was observed before, that when any
design to oppose an opinion from the absurdities which they suppose
would follow upon it, they are much inclined so to state it as that
at least they may seem so to do. And this ofttimes the most worthy
and candid persons are not free from, in the heat of disputation. So
I fear it is here fallen out ; for as unto personal imputation, I do
not well understand it. All imputation is unto a person, and is the
act of a person, be it of what, and what sort it will ; but from neither
of them can be denominated a personal imputation. And if an im-
putation be allowed that is not unto the persons of men, — namely, in
this case unto all believers, — the nature of it hath not yet been de-
clared, as I know of
That any have so expressed the imputation pleaded for, " that
every believer should be personally righteous in the very individual
acts of Christ's righteousness," I know not ; I have neither read nor
heard any of them who have so expressed their mind. It may be
some have done so : but I shall not undertake the defence of what
they have done; for it seems not only to suppose that Christ did
every individual act which in any instance is required of us, but also
that those acts are made our own inherently, — both which are false
and impossible. That which indeed is pleaded for in this imputation
is only this, that what the Lord Christ did and suifered as the media-
tor and surety of the covenant, m answer unto the law, for them,
and in their stead, is imputed unto every one of them unto the jus-
tification of life. And sufficient this is unto that end, without any
220 ON JUSTIFICATION.
such supposals. (1.) From the dignity of the person who yielded this
obedience, which rendered it both satisfactory and meritorious, and
imputable unto many. (2.) From the nature of the obedience itself
which was a perfect compliance with, a fulfilling of, and satisfaction
unto, the whole law in all its demands. This, on the supposition of
that act of God's sovereign authority, whereby a representative of
the whole church was introduced to answer the law, is the ground of
his righteousness being made theirs, and being every way sufficient
unto their justification. (3.) From the constitution of God, that what
was done and suffered by Christ as a public person, and our surety,
should be reckoned unto us, as if done by ourselves. So the sin of
Adam, whilst he was a public person, and represented his whole pos-
terity, is imputed unto us all, as if we had committed that actual
sin. This Bellarmine himself frequently acknowledgeth : " Pecca-
vimus in primo homine quando ille peccavit, et ilia ejus prsevaricatio
nostra etiam prgevaricatio fuit. Non enim vere per Adami inobedi-
entiam constitueremur peccatores, nisi inobedientia illius nostra etiam
inobedientia esset," De Amiss. Grat. et Stat. Peccat., lib. v. cap. 18.
And elsewhere, that the actual sin of Adam is imputed unto us, as if
we all had committed that actual sin ; that is, broken the whole law
of God. And this is that whereby the apostle illustrates the imputa-
tion of the righteousness of Christ unto believers ; and it may on as
good grounds be charged with absurdities as the other. It is not,
^■j therefore, said that God judgeth that we have in our own 2)ersons done
^ those very acts, and endured that penalty of the laiu, which the Lord
Christ did and endured ; for this would overthrow all imputation ; —
but what Christ did and suffered, that God imputeth unto believers
unto the justification of life, as if it had been done by themselves ;
and his righteousness as a public person is made theirs by unputa-
tion, even as the sin of Adam, whilst a public person, is made the
sin of all his posterity by imputation.
Hereon none of the absurdities pretended, which are really such,
do at all follow. It doth not so, that Christ in his own person per-
formed every individual act that we in our circumstances are ob-
liged unto in a way of duty; nor was there any need that so he
should do. This imputation, as I have showed, stands on other
foundations. Nor doth it follow, that every saved person's rigldeous-
ness before God is the same identically and numerically with Christ's
in his public capacity as mediator; for this objection destroys itself,
by affirming that as it was his, it was the righteousness of God-man,
and so it hath an especial nature as it respects or relates unto his
person. It is the same that Christ in his public capacity did woik
or effect. But there is a wide difference in the consideration of it
as his absolutely, and as made ours. It was formally inherent in
FORMAL CAUSE OF JUSTIFICATION. 221
him, — is only materially imputed unto us ; was actively his, — is pas-
sively ours; was lur ought in the person of God-man for the whole
church, — is imputed unto each single believer, as unto his own con-
cernment only. Adam's sin, as imputed unto us, is not the sin of a
representative, though it be of him that was so, but is the particular
sin of every one of us ; but this objection must be farther spoken unto,
where it occurs afterward. Nor will it follow, that on this suppo-
sition lue should he accounted to have done that which was done ^/
long before we luere in a capacity of doing any thing; for what is
done for us and in our stead, before we are in any such capacity, may
be imputed unto us, as is the sin of Adam. And yet there is a mani-
fold sense wherein men may be said to have done what was done for
them and in their name, before their actual existence ; so that therein
is no absurdity. As unto what is added by the way, that Christ
did not do nor suffer the " idem" that we were obliged unto; whereas
he did what the law required, and suffered what the law threatened
unto the disobedient, which is the whole of what we are obliged unto,
it will not be so easily proved, nor the arguments very suddenly an-
swered, whereby the contrary hath been confirmed. That Christ did
sustain the place of a surety, or was the surety of the new covenant,
the Scripture doth so expressly affirm that it cannot be denied. And
that there may be sureties in cases criminal as well as civil and pe-
cuniary, hath been proved before. What else occurs about the singu-
larity of Christ's obedience, as he was mediator, proves only that his
righteousness, as formally and inherently his, was peculiar unto him-
self; and that the adjuncts of it, which arise from its relation unto his
person, as it was inherent in him, are not communicable unto them
to whom it is imputed.
6. It is, moreover, urged, " That upon the supposed imputation of
the righteousness of Christ, it will follow that every believer is justi-
fied by the works of the law ; for the obedience of Christ was a legal
righteousness, and if that be imputed unto us, then are we justified
by the law ; which is contrary unto express testimonies of Sciipture
in many places." Ans. (1.) I know nothing more frequent in the
"writings of some learned men than that the righteousness of Christ
is our legal righteousness ; who yet, I presume, are able to free them-
selves of this objection. (2.) If this do follow in the true sense of
being justified by the law, or the works of it, so denied in the Scrip-
tm^e, their weakness is much to be pitied who can see no other way
whereby we may be freed from an obligation to be justified by the
law, but by this imputation of the righteousness of Christ. (3.) The
Scripture which affirms that " by the deeds of the law no man can
be justified," affirms in like manner that by " faith we do not make
void the law, but establish it;" that "the righteousness of the law is
222 ON JUSTIP7CATION.
fulfilled in us;" that Christ " came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil
it," and is the " end of the law for righteousness unto them that do
believe." And that the law must be fulfilled, or we cannot be justi-
fied, we shall prove afterward. (4.) We are not hereon justified by
the law, or the works of it, in the only sense of that proposition in
the Scripture; and to coin new senses or significations of it is not
safe. The meaning of it in the Scripture is, that only " the doers
of the law shall be justified," E,om. ii. 13; and that " he that doeth
the things of it shall live by them," chap. x. 5, — namely, in his own
person, by the way of personal duty, which alone the law requires.
But if we, who have not fulfilled the law in the way of inherent, per-
sonal obedience, are justified by the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ unto us, then are we justified by Christ, and not by the law.
But it is said that this tvill not relieve; for if his obedience
be so imputed unto us, as that we are accounted by God in judg-
ment to have done what Christ did, it is all one upon the matter,
and we are as much justified by the law as if we had in our own
proper persons performed an unsinning obedience unto it. This I
confess I cannot understand. The nature of this imputation is here
represented, as formerly, in such a way as we cannot acknowledge ;
from thence alone this inference is made, which yet, in my judgment,
doth not follow thereon. For grant an imputation of the righteous-
ness of another unto us, be it of what nature it will, all justification
by the law and works of it, in the sense of the Scrij)ture, is gone for
ever. The admission of imputation takes off all power from the law
to justify; for it can justify none but upon a righteousness that is
originally and inherently his own : " The man that doeth them shall
live in them." If the righteousness that is imputed be the ground
and foundation of our justification, and made ours by that imputa-
tion, state it how you will, that justification is of grace, and not of
the law. However, I know not of any that say we are accounted of
God in judgment 'personally to have done ivhat Christ did; and it
may have a sense that is false, — namely, that God should judge us in
our own persons to have done those acts which we never did. But
what Christ did for us, and in our stead, is imputed and communi-
cated unto us, as we coalesce into one mystical person with him by
faith ; and thereon are we justified. And this absolutely overthrows
all justification by the law or the works of it; though the law be
established, fulfilled, and accomplished, that we may be justified.
Neither can any, on the supposition of the imputation of the right-
eousness of Christ truly stated, be said to merit their own salvation.
Satisfaction and merit are adjuncts of the righteousness of Christ, as
jor^mally inherent in his OAvn person ; and as such it cannot be trans-
fused into another. Wherefore, as it is imputed unto individual
IMPUTATION PROVED. 223
believers, it liath not those properties accompanying of it, which
belong only unto its existence in the person of the Son of God. But
this was spoken unto before, as also much of what was necessary to
be here repeated.
These objections I have in this place taken notice of, because the
answers given unto them do tend to the farther explanation of that
truth, whose confirmation, by arguments and testimonies of Scripture,
I shall now proceed unto.
CHAPTER X.
Arguments for justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ —
The first argument from the nature and use of our own personal righteous-
ness.
III. There is a justification of convinced sinners on their believing.
Hereon are their sins pardoned, their persons accepted with God,
and a right is given unto them unto the heavenly inheritance. This
state they are immediately taken into ujjon their faith, or believing
in Jesus Chi'ist. And a state it is of actual peace luith God. These
things at present I take for granted; and they are the foundation of
all that I shall plead in the present argument. And I do take notice
of them, because some seem, to the best of my understanding, to deny
any real actual justification of sinners on their believing in this life.
For they make justification to be only a general conditional sentence
declared in the gospel ; which, as unto its execution, is delayed unto
the day of judgment. For whilst men are in this world, the whole
condition of it being not fulfilled, they cannot be partakers of it, or
be actually and absolutely justified. Hereon it follows, that indeed
there is no real state of assured rest and peace with God by Jesus
Christ, for any persons in this life. This at present I shall not dis-
pute about, because it seems to me to overthrow the whole gospel, —
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and all the comfort of believers;
about which I hope we are not as yet called to contend.
Our inquiry is, how convinced sinners do, on their believing, obtain
the remission of sins, acceptance with God, and a right unto eternal
life? and if this can no other way be done but by the imputation of
the righteousness of Christ unto them, then thereby alone are they
justified in the sight of God, And this assertion proceedeth on a
supposition that there is a righteousness required unto the justifica-
tion of any person whatever: for whereas God, in the justification of
any person, doth declare him to be acquitted from all crimes laid
224 ON JUSTIFICATION.
unto his charge, and to stand as righteovis in his sight, it must be on
the consideration of a righteousness whereon any man is so acquitted
and declared; for the judgment of God is according unto truth. This
we have sufficiently evidenced before, in that juridical procedure
wherein the Scripture represents unto us the justification of a be-
lieving sinner. And if there be no other righteousness whereby we
may be thus justified but only that of Christ imputed unto us, then
thereby must we be justified, or not at all ; and if there be any such
other righteousness, it must be our o^vn, inherent in us, and wrought
out by us; for these two kinds, inherent and imputed righteousness,
our own and Christ's, divide the whole nature of righteousness, as to
the end inquired after. And that there is no such inherent righteous-
ness, no such righteousness of our own, whereby we may be justified
before God, I shall prove in the first place. And I shall do it, first,
from express testimonies of Scripture, and then from the considera-
tion of the thing itself; and two things I shall premise hereunto: — -
1. That I shall not consider this righteousness of our own abso-
lutely in itself, but as it may be conceived to be improved and ad-
vanced by its relation unto the satisfaction and merit of Christ: for
many will grant that our inherent righteousness is not of itself suffi-
cient to justify us in the sight of God; but take it as it hath value
and worth communicated unto it from the merit of Christ, and so it
is accepted unto that end, and judged worthy of eternal life. We
could not merit life and salvation had not Christ merited that grace
for us whereby we may do so, and merited also that our works should
be of such a dignity with respect unto reward. We shall, therefore,
allow what worth can be reasonably thought to be communicated
unto this righteousness from its respect unto the merit of Christ.
2. Whereas persons of all sorts and parties do take various ways
in the assignation of an interest in our justification unto our own
righteousness, so as that no parties are agreed about it, nor many of
the same mind among themselves, — as might easily be manifested in
the Papists, Socinians, and others, — I shall, so far as it is possible in
the ensuing arguments, have respect unto them all ; for my design is
to prove that it hath no such inter^est in our justification before God,
as that the righteousness of Christ should not be esteemed the only
righteousness whereon we are justified.
And, FIRST, we shall produce some of those many testimonies which
may be pleaded unto this purpose, Ps. cxxx. S, 4, " If tliou, Lord,
shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand ? But there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." There is an in-
quiry included in these words, how a man, how any man, may be
justified before God; how he may stand, that is, in the presence of
God, and be accepted with him, — how he shall stand in judgment, as
IMPUTATION TROVED. 225
it is explained, Ps. i. 5, " The wicked sliall not stand in the judg-
ment," shall not be acquitted on their trial. That which first ofiereth
itself unto this end is his oiuii obedience; for this the law requires of
him in the first place, and this his own conscience calls upon him
for. But the psalmist plainly declares that no man can thence ma-
nage a plea for his justification with any success; and the reason is,
because, notwithstanding the best of the obedience of the best of men,
there are iniquities found with them against the Lord their God;
and if men come to their trial before God, whether they shall be
justified or condemned, these also must be heard and taken into the
account. But then no man can " stand," no man can be "justified," as
it is elsewhere expressed. Wherefore, the wisest and safest course is,
as unto our justification before God, utterly to forego this plea, and
not to insist on our own obedience, lest our sins should appear also,
and be heard. No reason can any man give on his own account why
they should not be so; and if they be so, the best of men will be cast
hi their trial, as the psalmist declares.
Two things are required in this trial, that a sinner may stand : —
1. That his iniquities be not observed ; for if they be so, he is lost
for ever. 2. That a righteousness be produced and pleaded that
will endure the trial ; for justification is upon a justifying right-
eousness. For the first of these, the psalmist tells us it must be
through pardon or forgiveness. " But there is forgiveness with thee,"
— wherein lies our only relief against the condemnatory sentence of
the law with respect unto our iniquities, — that is, through the blood
of Christ, for in him " we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins," Eph. i. 7. The other cannot be our own
obedience, because of our iniquities. Wherefore this the same psalmist
directs u-s unto, Ps. Ixxi. 16, "I will go in the strength of the Lord
God : I will make mention of thy righteousness, of thine only." The
righteousness of God, and not his own, yea, in opposition unto his
own, is the only plea that in this case he would insist upon.
If no man can stand a trial before God upon his oiun obedience,
so as to be justified before him, because of his own personal iniqui-
ties; and if our only plea in thai, case be the righteousness of God,
the rigliteousness of God only, and not our oiun; then is there nojjer-
sonal, inherent righteousness in any believers whereon they may be
justified; — which is that which is to be proved.
The same is again asserted by the same person, and that more
plainly and directly, Ps. cxliii. 2, "Enter not into judgment with thy
servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." This tes-
timony is the more to be considered, because as it is derived from the
law, Exod. xxxiv. 7, so it is transferred into the gospel, and twice
urged by the apostle unto the same purpose, Rom. iii. 20; Gal. ii. 16.
VOL. V. 15
226 ON JUSTIFICATION.
The person who insists on this plea with God professeth himself
to be his servant: " Enter not into judgment with thy servant;"
that is, one that loved him, feared him, yielded all sincere obedience.
He was not a hypocrite, not an unbeliever, not an unregenerate per-
son, who had performed no works but such as were legal, such as the
law required, and such as were done in the strength of the law only ;
such works as all will acknowledge to be excluded from our justifica-
tion, and which, as many judge, are only those which are so excluded.
David it Avas, who was not only converted, a true believer, had the
Spirit of God, and the aids of special grace in his obedience, but had
this testimony unto his sincerity, that he was " a man after God's
own heart." And this witness had he in his own conscience of his
integrity, uprightness, and personal righteousness, so as that he fre-
quently avows them, appeals unto God concerning the truth of them,
and pleads them as a ground of judgment between him and his ad-
versaries. We have, therefore, a case stated in the instance of a sin-
cere and eminent believer, who excelled most in inherent, personal
righteousness.
This person, under these circumstances, thus testified unto both
by God and in his own conscience, as unto the sincerity, yea, as
unto the eminency, of his obedience, considers how he may " stand
before God," and " be justified in his sight." Why doth he not now
plead his own merits; and that, if not " ex condigno," yet at least
" ex congruo," he deserved to be acquitted and justified ? But he left
this plea for that generation of men that were to come after, who
would justify themselves and despise others. But suppose he had no
such confidence in the merit of his works as some have now attained
unto, yet why doth he not freely enter into judgment with God, put
it unto the trial whether he should be justified or no, by pleading
that he had fulfilled the condition of the new covenant, that ever-
lasting covenant which God made with him, ordered in all things,
and sure? for upon a supposition of the procurement of that cove-
nant and the terms of it by Christ (for I suppose the virtue of that
purchase he made of it is allowed to extend unto the Old Testament),
this was all that was required of him. Is it not to be feared that he
was one of them who see no necessity, or leave none, of personal ho-
liness and righteousness, seeing he makes no mention of it, now it
should stand him in the greatest stead? At least he might plead his
faith, as his own duty and luork, to be imputed unto him for right-
eousness. But whatever the reason be, he waives them all, and abso-
lutely deprecates a trial upon them. " Come not," saitli he, " O
Lord, into judgment with thy servant ;" as it is promised that he
who believes should " not come into judgment," John v. 24.
And if this holy person renounce the whole consideration of all
IMPUTATION PROVED. 227
his personal, inherent righteousness, in every kind, and will not insist
upon it under any pretence, in any place, as unto any use in his jus-
tification before God, we may safely conclude there is no such right-
eousness in any, whereby they may be justified. And if men would
but leave those shades and coverts under which they hide themselves
in their disputations, — if they would forego those pretences and dis-
tinctions wherewith they delude themselves and others, and tell us
plainly ivhat 'plea they dare make in the j^'^esence of God from their
own righteousness and obedience, that they may be justified before
him, — we should better understand their minds than now we do.
There is one, I confess, who speaks with some confidence unto this
purpose, and that is Vasquez the Jesuit, in 1, 2, disp. 204, cap. 4,
" Inhserens justitia ita reddit animam justam et sanctam, ac proinde
filiam Dei, ut hoc ipso reddat earn heredem, et dignam eeterna gloria;
imo ipse Deus efficere non potest ut hujusmodi Justus dignus non sit
eeterna beatitudine." Is it not sad, that David should discover so
much ignorance of the worth of his inherent righteousness, and dis-
cover so much pusillanimity with respect unto his trial before God,
whereas God himself could not otherwise order it, but that he was,
and must be, " worthy of eternal blessedness ? "
The reason the psalmist gives why he will not put it unto the
trial, whether he should be acquitted or justified upon his own obe-
dience, is this general axiom : " For in thy sight," or before thee,
'■' shall no man living be justified." This must be spoken absolutely,
or with respect unto some one way or cause of justification. If it be
spoken absolutely, then this work ceaseth for ever, and there is indeed
no such thing as justification before God. But this is contrary unto
the whole Scripture, and destructive of the gospel. Wherefore it is
spoken with respect unto our oivn obedience and works. He doth not
pray absolutely that he " would not enter into judgment with him,"
for this were to forego his government of the world ; but that he
would not do so on the account of his own duties and obedience.
But if so be these duties and obedience did answer, in any sense or
way, what is required of us as a righteousness unto justification, there
was no reason why he should deprecate a trial by them or upon
them. But whereas the Holy Ghost doth so positively affirm that
" no man living shall be justified in the sight of God," by or upon
his own works or obedience, it is, I confess, marvellous unto me
that some should so interpret the apostle James as if he affirmed the
express contrary, — namely, that Ave are justified in the sight of God
by our own works, — whereas indeed he says no such thing. This,
therefore, is an eternal rule of truth, — By or upon his own obedience
no man living can be justified in the sight of God. It will be said,
" That if God enter into judgment with any on their own obedience
228 ON JUSTIFICATION.
by and according to the law, then, indeed, none can be justified be-
fore him; but God judging according to the gospel and the tenns of
the new covenant, men may be justified upon their own duties, works,
and obedience." Ans. (1.) The negative assertion is general and
unlimited, — that " no man living shall " (on his own works or obedi-
ence) " be justified in the sight of God." And to limit it unto this
or that way of judging, is not to distinguish, but to contradict the
Holy Ghost. (2.) The judgment intended is only with respect unto
justification, as is plain in the words; but there is no judgment on
our works or obedience, with respect unto righteousness and justifica-
tion, but by the proper rule and measure of them, which is the law.
If they will not endure the trial by the law, they will endure no
trial, as unto righteousness and justification in the sight of God.
(3.) The prayer and plea of the psalmist, on this supposition, are to
this purpose : " O Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant by
or according unto the law ; but enter into judgToent with me on my
o-wn works and obedience according to the rule of the gospel ;" for
which he gives this reason, " because in thy sight shall no man living
be justified:" which how remote it is from his intention need not be
declared. (4.) The judgment of God unto justification according to
the gospel doth not proceed on our works of obedience, but upon
the righteousness of Christ, and our interest therein by faith; as is
too evident to be modestly denied. Notwithstanding this exception,
therefore, hence we argue, —
If the most holy of the servants of God, in and after a course of
sincere, fruitful obedience, testified unto by God himself, and wit-
nessed in their o^vn consciences, — that is, whilst they have the greatest
evidences of their own sincerity, and that indeed they are the ser-
vants of God, — do renounce all thoughts of such a righteousness
thereby, as whereon, in any sense, they may be justified before God ;
then there is no such righteousness in any, but it is the righteousness
of Christ alone, imputed unto us, whereon we are so justified. But
that so they do, and ought all of them so to do, because of the ge-
neral rule here laid do^vn, that in the sisfht of God no man livino-
shaU be justified, is plainly affirmed in this testimony.
I no way doubt but that many learned men, after all their pleas
for an interest of personal righteousness and works in our justifica-
tion before God, do, as unto their own practice, betake themselves
unto this method of the psalmist, and cry, as the prophet Daniel
doth, in the name of the church, " We do not present our supplica-
tions before thee for our own righteousness, but for thy great mercies,"
chap. ix. 18. And therefore Job (as we have formerly observed),
after a long and earnest defence of his own faith, integiity, and per-
sonal righteousness, wherein he justified himself against the charge
IMPUTATION PEOVED. 229
of Satan and men, being called to plead his cause in tlie sight of
God, and declare on what grounds he expected to be justified before
him, renounceth all liis former pleas, and betakes himself unto the
same with the psalmist, chap. xl. 4, xlii. 6.
It is true, in particular cases, and as unto some special end in the
providence of God, a man may plead his own integrity and obedience
before God himself So did Hezekiah, when he prayed for the
sjDariug of his life, Isa. xxxviii. 8, " Remember now, O Lord, I be-
seech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a per-
fect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight." This, I
say, may be done with respect unto temporal deliverance, or any
other particular end wherein the glory of God is concerned : so was
it greatly in sparing the life of Hezekiah at that time. For whereas
he had with great zeal and industry reformed religion and restored
the true worship of God, the " cutting him off in the midst of his
days" would have occasioned the idolatrous multitude to have re-
flected on him as one dying under a token of divine displeasure.
But none ever made this plea before God for the absolute justifica-
tion of their persons. So Nehemiah, in that great contest which he
had about the worship of God and the service of his house, pleads
the remembrance of it before God, in his justification against his ad-
versaries; but resolves his own personal acceptance with God into
pardoning mercy : " And spare me according unto the multitude of
thy mercies," chap. xiii. 22.
Another testimony we have unto the same purpose in the prophet
Isaiah, speaking in the name of the church, chap. Ixiv. 6, " We are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
It is true the prophet doth in this place make a deep confession of
the sins of the people; but yet withal he joins himself with them,
and asserts the especial interest of those concerning whom he speaks,
by adoption, — that God was their Father, and they his peojole, chap.
Ixiii. 1 6, Ixiv. 8, 9. And the righteousnesses of all that are the chil-
dren of God are of the same kind, however they may differ in degrees,
and some of them may be more righteous than others; but it is all
of it described to be such, as that we cannot, I think, justly expect
justification in the sight of God upon the account of it. But whereas
the consideration of the nature of our inherent rio-hteousness belonrjs
unto the second way of the confirmation of our present argument, I
shall not farther here insist on this testimony.
Many others also, unto the same purpose, I shall wholly omit, —
namely, all those wherein the saints of God, or tlie church, in an
humble acknowledgment and confession of their own sins, do betake
themselves unto the mercy and grace of God alone, as dispensed
through the mediation and blood of Christ; and all those wherein
230 ON JUSTIFICATION.
God iDromiseth to pardon and blot out our iniquities for his own sake,
for his name's sake, — to bless the people, not for any good that was in
them, nor for their righteousness, nor for their works, the considera-
tion whereof he excludes from having any influence into any actings
of his grace towards them ; and all those wherein God expresseth his
delight in them alone, and his approbation of them who hope in his
mercy, trust in his name, betaking themselves unto him as their only
refuge, pronouncing them accursed who trust in any thing else, or
glory in themselves, — such as contain singular promises unto them
that betake themselves unto God, as fatherless, hopeless, and lost in
themselves.
There is none of the testimonies which are multiplied unto this
purpose, but they sufficiently prove that the best of God's saints
have not a righteousness of their own whereon they can, in any sense,
be justified before God. For they do all of them, in the places re-
ferred unto, renounce any such righteousness of their own, all that is in
them, all that they have done or can do, and betake themselves unto
grace and mercy alone. And whereas, as Ave have before proved,
God, in the justification of any, doth exercise grace towards them
with respect unto a righteousness whereon he declares them righte-
ous and accepted before him, they do all of them respect a righteous-
ness which is not inherent in us, but imputed to us.
Herein lies the substance of all that we inquire into, in this matter
of justification. All other disputes about qualifications, conditions,
causes, avsu c^v oh-/., any kind of interest for our own works and obe-
dience Id our justification before God, are but the speculations of
tnen at ease. The conscience of a convinced sinner, who presents
himself in the presence of God, finds all practically reduced unto this
one point, — namely, whether he will trust unto his own personal in-
herent righteousness, or, in a full renunciation of it, betake himself
unto the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ alone. In
other things he is not concerned. And let men phrase his own
righteousness unto him as they please, let them pretend it merito-
rious, or only evangelical, not legal, — only an accomplishment of the
condition of the new covenant, a cause without which he cannot be
justified, — it will not be easy to frame his mind unto any confidence
in it, as unto justification before God, so as not to deceive him in the
issue.
The SECOND part of the present argument is taken from the nature
of the thing itself, or the consideration of this personal, inherent
righteousness of our own, what it is, and wherein it doth consist, and
of what use it may be in our justification. And unto this purpose it
may be observed, —
That we gi'ant an inherent righteousness in all that do be-
IMPUTATION PROVED. 231
lieve, as hath been before declared : " For the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth," Eph. v. 9. " Being
made free from sin, we become the servants of righteousness," Rom.
vi. 18. And our duty it is to " follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness," 1 Tim. vi. 11. And although righteous-
ness be mostly taken for an especial grace or duty, distinct from other
graces and duties, yet we acknowledge that it may be taken for the
whole of our obedience before God; and the word is so used in the
Scripture, where our own righteousness is opposed unto the righteous-
ness of God. And it is either habitual or actual. There is an habitual
righteousness inherent in believers, as they have " put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,"
Eph. iv. 24< ; as they are the " workmanship of God, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works," chap. ii. 10. And there is an actual righte-
ousness, consisting in those good works whereunto we are so created,
or the iiTiits of righteousness, which are to the praise of God by
Jesus Christ. And concerning this righteousness it may be observed,
— First, That men are said in the Scripture to be just or righteous
by it ; but no one is said to be justified by it before God. Secondly,
That it is not ascribed unto, or found in, any but those that are ac-
tually justified in order of nature antecedent thereunto.
This being the constant doctrine of all the Reformed churches and
divines, it is an open calumny whereby the contrary is ascribed unto
them, or any of those who believe the imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ unto our justification before God. So Bellamiine
affirms that no Protestant writers acknowledge an inherent righte-
ousness but only Bucer and Chemnitius; when there is no one of
them by whom either the thing itself or the necessity of it is de-
nied But some excuse may be made for him, from the manner
whereby they expressed themselves, wherein they always carefully dis-
tinguished between inherent holiness and that righteousness where-
by we are justified. But we are now told by one, that if we should
affirm it a hundred times, he could scarce believe us. This is some-
what severe ; for although he speaks but to one, yet the charge falls
equally upon all who maintain that imputation of the righteousness of
Christ which he denies, who being at least the generality of all Pro-
testant divines, they are represented either as so foolish as not to
know what they say, or so dishonest as to say one thing and believe
another. But he endeavours to justify his censure by sundry rea-
sons; and, first, he says, "That inherent righteousness can on no
other account be said to be ours, than that by it we are made
righteous; that is, that it is the condition of our justification re-
quired in the new covenant. This being denied, all inherent righte-
ousness is denied." But hoAV is this proved? What if one should say
232 ON JUSTIFICATION.
that every believer is inherently righteous, but yet that this inherent
righteousness was not the condition of his justification, but rather the
consequent of it, and that it is nowhere required in the new covenant
as the condition of our justification? how sliall the contrary be made
to appear? The Scripture plainly affirms that there is such an in-
herent righteousness in all that believe ; and yet as plainly that we
are justified before God by faith without works. Wherefore, that it
is the condition of our justification, and so antecedent unto it, is
expressly contrary unto that of the apostle, " Unto him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted unto him for righteousness," E,om. iv. 5. Nor is it the con-
dition of the covenant itself, as that whereon the whole grace of the
covenant is suspended ; for as it is habitual, wherein the denomina-
tion of righteous is principally taken, it is a grace of the covenant it-
self, and so not a condition of it, Jer. xxxi. 33, xxxii. 39 ; Ezek. xxxvi.
25-27. If no more be intended but that it is, as unto its actual
exercise, what is indispensably required of all that are taken into
covenant, in order unto the complete ends of it, we are agreed; but
hence it will not follow that it is the condition of our justification.
It is added, " That all righteousness respects a law and a rule, by
which it is to be tried; and he is righteous who hath done these
things which that law requires by Avhose rule he is to be judged."
But, First, This is not the way whereby the Scriptiire expresseth our
justification before God, which alone is under consideration, — namely,
that we bring unto it a personal righteousness of our own, answering
the law whereby we are to be judged ; yea, an assertion to this purpose
is foreign to the gospel, and destructive of the grace of God by J esus
Clirist. Secondly, It is granted that all righteousness respects a law
as the rule of it ; and so doth this whereof we speak, namely, the
moral latu ; which being the sole, eternal, unchangeable rule of righte-
ousness, if it do not in the substance of it answer thereunto, a righte-
ousness it is not. But this it doth, inasmuch as that, so far as it is
habitual, it consists in the renovation of the image of God, wherein
that law is written in our hearts ; and all the actual duties of it are,
as to the substance of them, what is required by that law. But as
unto the manner of its communication unto us, and of its per-
formance by us, from faith in God by Jesus Clirist, and love unto
him, as the author and fountain of all the gTace and mercy procured
and administered by him, it hath respect unto the gospel. What
will follow from hence? Why, that he is just that doth those things
which that law requires whereby he is to be judged. He is so cer-
tainly; for "not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the
doers of the law shall be justified," Rom. ii. 18. " So Moses de-
scribeth the righteousness of the law, that the man which doeth those
IMPUTATION PEOVED. 233
tilings shall live in tliem," Rom. x. 5. But although the righteous-
ness whereof we discourse be required by the law, — as certainly it is,
for it is nothing but the law in our hearts, from whence we walk in
the ways and keep the statutes or commandments of God, — yet doth
it not so answer the law as that any man can be justified by it. But
then it will be said, that if it doth not answer that law and rule
whereby we are to be judged, then it is no righteousness; for all
righteousness must answer the law whereby it is required. And I
say it is most true, it is no perfect rigliteousness ; it doth not so
answer the rule and law as that we can be justified by it, or safely
judged on it. But, so far as it doth answer the law, it is a righte-
ousness,— that is, imperfectly so, and therefore is an imperfect righte-
ousness; which yet giveth the denomination of righteous unto them
that have it, both absolutely and comparatively. It is said, there-
fore, that it is " the law of grace or the gospel from whence we are
denominated righteous with this righteousness;" but that we are by
the gospel denominated righteous, from any righteousness that is not
required by the moral law, will not be proved. Nor doth the law of
grace or the gospel anj^vhere requhe of us or prescribe unto us this
righteousness, as that whereon we are to be justified before God. It
requires faith in Christ Jesus, or the receiving of him as he is pro-
posed in the promises of it, in all that are to be justified. It requires,
in like manner, "repentance from dead works" in all that believe;
as also the fruits of faith, conversion unto God, and repentance, in
the works of righteousness, which are to the praise of God by Jesus
Christ, with perseverance therein unto the end ; and all this may, if
you please, be called our evangelical righteousness, as being our obe-
dience unto God accordmg to the gospel. But yet the graces and
duties wherein it doth consist do no more perfectly answer the com-
mands of the gospel than they do those of the moral law; for that
the gosjiel abates from the holiness of the law, and makes that to be
no sin which is sin by the law, or approves absolutely of less inten-
sion or lower degrees in the love of God than the law doth, is an im-
pious imagination.
And that the gospel requires all these thmgs entirely and equally,
as the condition of our justification before God, and so antecedently
thereunto, is not yet proved, nor ever will be. It is hence concluded
that " this is our righteousness, according unto the evangelical law
which requires it ; by this we are made righteous, — that is, not guilty
of the non-performance of the condition required in that law." And
these things are said to be very plain ! So, no doubt, they seemed
unto the author ; unto us they are intricate and perplexed. However,
I wholly deny that our faith, obedience, and righteousness, considered
as ours, as "\NT0Ught by us, although they are all accepted with God
2S4 ON JUSTIFICATION.
through Jesus Christ, according to the grace declared in the gospel, do
perfectly answer the commands of the gospel requiring them of us, as
to matter, manner, and degree ; and [assert] that therefore it is utterly
impossible that they should be the cause or condition of our justifica-
tion before God. Yet in the explanation of these things, it is added
by the same author, that " our maimed and imperfect righteousness
is accepted unto salvation, as if it were every way absolute and per-
fect ; for that so it should be, Christ hath merited by his most perfect
righteousness." But it is justification, and not salvation, that alone
we discourse about; and that the works of obedience or righteousness
have another respect unto salvation than they have unto justification,
is too plainly and too often expressed in the Scripture to be modestly
denied. And if this weak and imperfect righteousness of ours be
esteemed and accepted as every way perfect before God, then either
it is because God judgeth it to be perfect, and so declares us to be
most just, and justified thereon in his sight; or he judgeth it not to
be complete and perfect, yet declareth us to be perfectly righteous in
his sight thereby. Neither of these, I suppose, can well be granted.
It will therefore be said, it is neither of them ; but " Christ hath
obtained, by his complete and most perfect righteousness and obedi-
ence, that this lame and imperfect/iighteousness of ours should be
accepted as every way perfect." //^nd if it be so, it may be some
"svill think it best not to go about by this weak, halt, and imperfect
righteousness, but, as unto their justification, betake themselves im-
mediately unto the most perfect righteousness of Christ ; which I am
sure the Scripture encourages them unto. And they will be ready
to think that the righteousness which cannot justify itself, but must
be obliged unto grace and pardon through the merits of Christ, will
never be able to justify them. But what will ensue on this explana-
tion of the acceptance of our imperfect righteousness unto justifica-
tion, upon the merit of Christ ? This only, so far as I can discern,
that Christ hath merited and procured, either that God should judge
that to be perfect which is imperfect, and declare us perfectly right-
eous when we are not so; or that he should judge the righteousness
still to be imperfect, as it is, but declare us to be perfectly righteous
with and by this imperfect righteousness. These are the plain paths
that men walk in who cannot deny but that there is a righteousness
required unto our justification, or that we may be declared righteous
before God, in the sight of God, according unto the judgment of God;
yet, denying the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto us,
will allow of no other righteousness unto this end but that which is
so weak and imperfect as that no man can justify it in his own con-
science, nor, without a frenzy of pride, can think or imagine himself
perfectly righteous thereby.
IMPUTATION PROVED. 235
And whereas it is added, that " he is blind who sees not that this
righteousness of ours is subordinate unto the righteousness of Christ,"
I must acknowledge myself otherwise minded, notwithstanding the
severity of this censure. It seems to me that the righteousness of
Christ is subordinate unto this righteousness of our own, as here it is
stated, and not the contrary: for the end of all is our acceptance
with God as righteous; but according unto these thoughts, it is our
own righteousnesses whereon we are immediately accepted with God
as righteous. Only Christ hath deserved by his righteousness that
our righteousness may be so accepted ; and is therefore, as unto the
end of our justification before God, subordinate thereunto.
But to return from this digression, and to proceed unto our argu-
ment. This personal, inherent righteousness which, according to the
Scripture, we allow in believers, is not that whereby or wherewith
we are justified before God ; for it is not perfect, nor perfectly an-
swereth any rule of obedience that is given unto us : and so cannot
be our righteousness before God unto our justification. Wherefore,
we must be justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed imto
us, or be justified without respect unto any righteousness, or not
be justified at all. And a threefold imperfection doth accompany
it:—
1. As to the principle of it, as it is habitually resident in us ;
for, — (1.) There is a contrary iwinciple of sin abiding with it in the
same subject, whilst we are in this world. For contrary qualities
may be in the same subject, whilst neither of them is in the highest
degree. So it is in this case, Gal. v. 17, "For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are
contrary one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye
would." (2.) None of the faculties of our souls are perfectly renewed
whilst we are in this world. " The inward man is renewed day by
day," 2 Cor. iv. 16; and we are always to be purging ourselves from
all pollution of flesh and spirit, 2 Cor. vii. ], And hereunto belongs
whatever is spoken in the Scripture, whatever believers find in them-
selves by experience, of the remainders of indwelling sin, in the dark-
ness of our minds ; whence at best we know but in part, and through
ignorance are ready to Avander out of the way, Heb. v. 2, in the de-
ceitfulness of the heart and disorder of affections. I understand
not how any one can thmk of pleading his own righteousness in the
sight of God, or suppose that he can be justified by it, upon this
single account, of the imperfection of its inherent habit or principle.
Such notions arise from the ignorance of God and ourselves, or the
want of a due consideration of the one and the other. Neither
can I apprehend how a thousand distinctions can safely introduce it
into any consideration in our justification before God. He that can
236 ON JUSTIFICATION.
search in any measure, by a spiritual light, into his own heart and
soul, will find " God be merciful to me a sinner," a better plea than
any he can be furnished withal from any worth of his own. " What
is man, that he should be clean ? and he that is bom of a woman, that
he should be righteous?" Job xv. 14-lG, iv. 18, 19. Hence saith
Gregory, in Job. ix., lib. ix. cap. 14, " Ut ssepe diximus omnis justitia
humana injustitia esse convincitur si distincte judicetur." Bernard
speaks to the same purpose, and almost in the same words, Serm. i.
fest. omn. sanct., " Quid potest esse omnis justitia nostra coram Deo?
nonne juxta prophetam, velut 'pannus menstruatas' reputabitur; et
si districte judicetur, injustitia invenietur omnis justitia nostra, et
minus habens." A man cannot be justified in any sense by that
righteousness which, upon trial, will appear rather to be an unright-
eousness.
2. It is imperfect with respect unto every act and duty of it,
whether internal or external. There is iniquity cleaving unto our holy
things, and all our " righteousnesses are as filthy rags," Isa. Ixiv. 6.
It hath been often and well observed, that it a man, the best of men,
were left to choose the best of his works that ever he performed, and
thereon to enter into judgment with God, it only under this notion,
that he hath answered and fulfilled the condition required of him
as unto his acceptation Avith God, it would be his wisest course (at
least it would be so in the judgment of Bellarmine) to renounce it,
and betake himself unto grace and mercy alone.
8. It is imperfect by reason of the incursion of actual sins. Hence
our Saviour hath taught us continually to pray for the " forgiveness
of our sins ;" and " if we say that we have no sins, Ave deceive
ourselves," for " in many things Ave offend all." And Avhat con-
fidence can be placed in this righteousness, Avhich those Avho plead
for it in this cause acknoAvledge to be Aveak, maimed, and im-
perfect ?
I have but touched on these things, Avhich might have been handled
at large, and are indeed of great consideration in our present argu-
ment. But enough hath been spoken to manifest, that although this
righteousness of believers be on other accounts like the fruit of the
vine, that glads the heart of God and man, yet as unto our justifica-
tion before God, it is like the Avood of the vine, — a pin is not to be
taken from it to hang any weight of this cause upon.
Two things are pleaded in the behalf of this righteousness, and
its influence into our justification: — 1. That it is absolutely com-
plete and perfect. Hence some say that they are perfect and sinless
in this life; they have no more concern in the mortification of sin,
nor of growth in grace. And indeed this is the only rational pre-
tence of ascribing our justification before God thereunto; for Avere it
IMPUTATION PROVED. 237
SO with any, what should hinder him from being justified tliereon
before God, but only that he hath been a sinner? — which spoils the
whole market. But this vain imagination is so contrary unto the
Scripture, and the experience of all that know the terror of the Lord,
and what it is to walk humbly before him, as that I shall not insist
on the refutation of it.
2. It is pleaded, " That although this righteousness be not an exact
fulfilling of the moral law, yet is it the accomplishment of the con-
dition of the new covenant, or entirely answereth the law of grace,
and all that is required of us therein."
Ans. (1.) This wholly takes away sin, and the pardon of it, no less
than doth the conceit of sinless perfection which we now rejected;
for if our obedience do answer the only law and rule of it whereby
it is to be tried, measured, and judged, then is there no sin in us, nor
need of pardon. No more is required of any man, to keep him abso-
lutely free from sin, but that he fully answer, and exactly comply
with, the rule and law of his obedience whereby he must be judged.
On this supposition, therefore, there is neither sin nor any need of
the pardon of it. To say that there is still both sin and need of
pardon, with respect unto the moral law of God, is to confess that
law to be the rule of our obedience, which this righteousness doth no
way answer; and therefore none by it can be justified in the sight of
God.
(2.) Although this righteousness be accepted in justified persons by
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet consider the principle of it,
with all the acts and duties wherein it doth consist, as they are re-
quired and prescribed in the gospel unto us, and they do neither
jointly nor severally fulfil and answer the commands of the gospel,
no more than they do the commands of the law. Wherefore, they
cannot all of them constitute a righteousness consisting in an exact
conformity unto the rules of the gospel, or the law of it; for it is
impious to imagine that the gospel requiring any duty of us, suppose
the love of God, doth make any abatement, as unto the matter, man-
ner, or degrees of perfection in it, from what was required by the
law. Doth the gospel require a lower degree of love to God, a less
perfect love, than the law did ? God forbid. The same may be said
concerning the inward frame of our natures, and all other duties
wdiatever. Wherefore, although this righteousness is accepted in jus-
tified persons (as God had respect unto Abel, and then unto his
offering), in the way and unto the ends that shall be aftenvard de-
clared; yet, as it relates unto the commands of the gospel, both it and
all the duties of it are no less imperfect than it would be if it should
be left unto its trial by the law of creation only.
(3.) I know not what some men intend. On the one hand they
238 ON JUSTIFICATION.
aiSrm that our Lord Jesus Christ hath enlarged and heightened the
spiritual sense of the moral law ; and not only so, but added unto it new
precepts of more exact obedience than it did require ; — but on the
other, they would have him to have brought down or taken off the
ohligation of the law, so as that a man, according as he hath adapted
it unto the use of the gospel, shall be judged of God to have fulfilled
the whole obedience which it requires, who never answered any one
precept of it according unto its original sense and obligation; for so
it must be if this imperfect righteousness be on any account esteemed
a fulfilling of the rule of our obedience, as that thereon we should
be justified in the sight of God.
(4.) This opinion puts an irreconcilable difference between the law
and the gospel, not to be composed by any distinctions ; for, accord-
ing unto it, God declares by the gospel a man to be perfectly right-
eous, justified, and blessed, upon the consideration of a righteousness
that is imperfect; and in the law he pronounceth every one accursed
who continueth not in all things required by it, and as they are
therein required. But it is said that this righteousness is no other-
wise to be considered but as the condition of the new covenant,
whereon we obtain remission of sins on the sole account of the satis-
faction of Christ, wherein our justification doth consist.
Ans. (1.) Some, indeed, do say so, but not all, not the most, not the
Tnost learned, with whom in this controversy we have to do. And in
our pleas for what we believe to be the truth, we cannot always have
respect unto every private opinion whereby it is opposed. (2.) That
justification consists only in the imrdon of sin is so contrary to the
signification of the word, the constant use of it in the Scripture, the
common notion of it amongst mankmd, the sense of men in their
own consciences who find themselves under an obligation unto duty,
and express testimonies of the Scripture, as that I somewhat wonder
how it can be pretended. But it shall be spoken unto elsewhere.
(3.) If this righteousness be the fulfilliiig of the condition of the new
covenant whereon we are justified, it must be in itself such as exactly
answereth some rule or law of righteousness, and so be perfect: which
it doth not ; and therefore cannot bear the place of a righteousness
in our justification. (4.) That this righteousness is the condition of
our justification before God, or of that interest in the righteousness
of Christ whereby we are justified, is not proved, nor ever will be.
I shall briefly add two or three considerations, excluding this per-
sonal 7-ighteousness from its pretended interest in our justification,
and close this argument: —
1. TJiat righteousness which neither ansivereth the latu of God
nor the end of God in our justification hy the gospel, is not that
whereon lue are justified. But such is this inherent righteousness
IMPUTATION PROVED. 239
of believers, even of the best of them. (1.) That it answereth not the
law of God hath been proved from its imperfection. Nor will any-
sober person pretend that it exactly and perfectly fulfils the law of
our creation. And this law cannot be disannulled whilst the relation
of creator and rewarder on the one hand, and of creatures capable of
obedience and rewards on the other, between God and us doth con-
tinue. Wherefore, that which answereth not this law will not justify
us; for God will not abrogate that law, that the transgressors of it
may be justified, " Do we," saith the apostle, by the doctrine of
justification by faith without works, " make void the law? God for-
bid: yea, we establish it," Rom. iii. 31. (2.) That we should be jus-
tified with respect unto it answereth not the end of God in our jus-
tification by the gospel; for this is to take away all glorying in
ourselves and all occasion of it, every thing that might give counte-
nance unto it, so as that the whole might be to the praise of his own
grace by Christ, Rom. iii. 27; 1 Cor. i. 29-31. How it is faith alone
that gives glory to God herein hath been declared in the description
of its nature. But it is evident that no man hath, or can possibly
have, any other, any greater occasion of boasting in himself, with re-
spect unto his justification, than that he is justified on his perform-
ance of that condition of it, which consists in his own personal right-
eousness.
2. No man luas ev 67' justified hy it in his own conscience, much
less can he be justified hy it in the sight of God; " for God is greater
than our hearts and knoweth all things." There is no man so right-
eous, so holy, in the whole world, nor ever was, but his own conscience
would charge him in many things with his coming short of the
obedience required of him, in matter or manner, in the kmd or de-
grees of perfection; for there is no man that liveth and sinneth not.
Absolutely, " Nemo absolvitur se judice." Let any man be put unto
a trial in himself whether he can be justified in his own conscience
by his own righteousness, and he will be cast in the trial at his own
judgment-seat ; and he that doth not thereon conclude that there
must be another righteousness whereby he must be justified, that ori-
ginally and inherently is not his own, will be at a loss for peace with
God. But it will be said, that " men may be justified in their con-
sciences that they have performed the condition of the new covenant,
which is all that is pleaded with respect unto this righteousness."
And I no way doubt but that men may have a comfortable persua-
sion of their own sincerity in obedience, and satisfaction in the accept-
ance of it with God. But it is when they tiy it as an effect of faith,
whereby they are justified, and not as the condition of then- justifica-
tion. Let it be thus stated in tlieir minds, — that God requireth a
personal righteousness in order unto their justification, whereon their
240 ON JUSTIFICATION.
determination must be, '' This is my righteousness whicli I present
unto God that I may be justified," and they will find difficulty in
arriving at it, if I be not much mistaken.
3. None of the holy men of old, whose faith and experience are
recorded in the Scripture, did ever plead their own personal right-
eousness, under any notion of it, either as to the merit of their works
or as unto their complete performance of what was required of them
as the condition of the covenant, in order unto their justification be-
fore God. This hath been spoken unto before.
CHAPTER XI.
The nature of the obedience that God requireth of us — The eternal obligation of
the law thereunto.
Our second argument shall be taken from the nature of that
obedience or righteousness which God requireth of us that we may
be accepted of him, and approved by him. This being a large sub-
ject, if fully to be handled, I shall reduce what is of our present con-
cernment in it unto some special heads or observations : —
1. God being a most perfect, and therefore a most free agent, all
his actings towards mankind, all his dealings with them, all his con-
stitutions and laws concerning them, are to be resolved into his own
sovereign will and pleasure. No other reason can be given of the
original of the whole system of them. This the Scripture testifieth
unto, Ps. cxv. 3, cxxxv. 6; Prov. xvi. 4; Eph. i. 9, 11; Rev. iv. 11.
The being, existence, and natural circumstances of all creatures being
an effect of the free counsel and pleasure of God, all that belongs
unto them must be ultimately resolved thereinto.
2. Upon a supposition of some free acts of the will of God, and
the execution of them, constituting an order in the things that out-
wardly are of him, and their mutual respect unto one another, some
things may become necessary in this relative state, whose being was
not absolutely necessary in its own nature. The order of all things,
and their mutual respect unto one another, depend on God's free
constitution no less than their being absolutely. But upon a suppo-
sition of that constitution, things have in that order a necessary rela-
tion one to another, and all of them unto God. Wherefore, —
3. It was a free, sovereign act of God's will, to create, effect, or
produce such a creature as man is; that is, of a nature intelligent,
rational, capable of moral obedience, with rewards and punishments.
THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED BY GOD. 241
But on a supposition hereof, man, so freely made, could not be go-
verned any other ways but by a moral instrument of latu or rule,
influencing the rational faculties of his soul unto obedience, and
guiding him therein. He could not in that constitution be contained
under the rule of God by a mere physical influence, as are all irra-
tional or brute creatures. To suppose it, is to deny or destroy the
essential faculty and powers wherewith he was created. Wherefore,
on the supposition of his being, it was necessary that a law or rule of
obedience should be prescribed unto him, and be the instrument of
God's government towards him.
4. This necessary law, so far forth as it was necessary, did imme-
diately and unavoidably ensue upon the constitution of our nature
in relation unto God. Supposing the nature, being, and pi'operties
of God, with the works of creation, on the one hand; and suppose the
being, existence, and the nature of man, with his necessary relation
unto God, on the other ; and the law whereof we speak is nothing but
the rule of tltat relation, which can neither be nor be preserved
without it. Hence is this law eternal, indispensable, admitting of
no other variation than doth the relation between God and man,
Avhich is a necessary exurgence from their distinct natures and pro-
jierties.
5. The substance of this laiu was, that man, adhering unto God
absolutely, universally, unchangeably, uninterruptedly, in trust, love,
and fear, as the chiefest good, the first author of his being, of all the
present and future advantages whereof it was capable, should yield
obedience unto him, with respect unto his infinite wisdom, righteous-
ness, and almighty power to protect, reward, and punish, in all
things known to be his will and pleasure, either by the light of his
own mind or especial revelation made unto him. And it is evident
that no more is required unto the constitution and establishment of
this law but that God be God, and man be man, with the necessary
relation that must thereon ensue between them. Wherefore, —
6. This law doth eternally and unchangeably oblige all men unto
obedience to God, — even that obedience which it requires, and in the
manner wherein it requires it; for both the substance of what it re-
quires, and the manner of the performance of it, as unto measures
and degrees, are equally necessary and unalterable, upon the supposi-
tions laid down. For God cannot deny himself, nor is the nature
of man changed as unto the essence of it, whereunto alone respect
is had in this law, by any thing that can fall out. And although
God might superadd unto the original obligations of this law what
arbitrary commands he pleased, such as did not necessarily proceed
or arise from the relation between him and us, which might be, and
be continued without them; yet would they be resolved into that
VOL. V. 16
242 ON JUSTIFICATION.
principle of this law, tliat God in all things was absolutely to he
trusted and obeyed.
7. " Known unto God are all his works from the foundation of
the world." In the constitution of this order of things he made it
possible, and foresaw it would be future, that man would rebel
against the preceptive power of this law, and disturb that order of
things wherein he was placed under his moral rule. This gave occa-
sion imto that effect of infinite divine righteousness, in constituting
the punishment that man should fall under, upon his transgression
of this law. Neither was this an effect of arbitrary will and pleasure,
any more than the law itself was. Upon the supposition of the crea-
tion of man, the law mentioned was necessary, from all the divine
properties of the nature of God; and upon a supposition that man
would transgress the law, God being now considered as his ruler and
governor, the constitution of the punishment due unto his sin and
transgi'ession of it was a necessary effect of divine righteousness.
This it would not have been had the law itself been arbitrary; but
that being necessary, so was the penalty of its transgression. Where-
fore, the constitution of this penalty is liable to no more change,
alteration, or abrogation than the law itself, without an alteration in
the state and relation between God and man.
8. This is tliat law which our Lord Jesus Christ came " not to
destroy, but to fulfil," that he might be "the end of it for righteous-
ness unto them that do believe." This law he abrogated not, nor
could do so without a destruction of the relation that is between
God and man, arising from, or ensuing necessarily on, their distinct
beings and properties; but as this cannot be destroyed, so the Lord
Christ came unto a contrary end, — namely, to rejDair and restore it
where it was weakened. Wherefore, —
9. This law, the law of sinless, 'perfect obedience, with its sentence
of the punishment of death on all transgressors, doth and must abide
in force for ever in this world ; for there is no more required here-
unto but that God be God, and man be man. Yet shall this be
farther proved : —
(1.) There is nothing, not one word, in the Scripture intimating
any alteration in or abrogation of this law; so as that any thing
should not he duty which it makes to he duty, or any thing not he sin
which it makes to he sin, either as unto matter or degrees, or that
the thing which it makes to be sin, or which is sin by the rule of ifc,
should not merit and deserve that punishment which is declared in
the sanction of it, or threatened by it: " The wages of sin is death."
If any testimony of Scripture can be produced unto either of these
purposes, — namely, that either any thing is not sin, in the way of
omission or commission, in the matter or manner of its performance,
THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED BY GOD. 243
which is made to be so by this law, or that any such sin, or any thing
that would have been sin by this law, is exempted from the punish-
ment threatened by it, as unto merit or desert, — it shall be attended
unto. It is, therefore, in universal force towards all mankind. There
is no relief in this case, but " Behold the Lamb of God."
In exception hereunto it is pleaded, that when it v/as first given
unto Adam, it Avas the rule and instrument of a covenant between
God and man, — a covenant of works and perfect obedience ; but upon
the entrance of sin, it ceased to have the nature of a covenant unto
any. And it is so ceased, that on an impossible supposition that any
man should fulfil the perfect righteousness of it, yet should he not be
justified, or obtain the benefit of the covenant thereby. It is not,
therefore, only become ineffectual unto us as a covenant by reason of
our weakness and disability to perform it, but it is ceased in its own
nature so to be ; but these things, as they are not unto our present
jjurpose, so are they wholly unproved. For, —
[1.] Our discourse is not about the federal adjunct of the law,
but about its inoral nature only. It is enough that, as a law, it con-
tinueth to oblige all mankind unto perfect obedience, under its ori-
ginal penalty. For hence it will unavoidably follow, that unless the
commands of it be complied withal and fulfilled, the penalty will
fall on all that transgress it. And those who grant that this law is still
in force as unto its being a rule of obedience, or as unto its requiring
duties of us, do grant all that we desire. For it requires no obedi-
ence but Avhat it did in its original constitution, — that is, sinless and
perfect ; and it requhes no duty, nor prohibits any sin, but under
the penalty of death upon disobedience.
[2.] It is true, that he who is once a sinner, if he should after-
ward yield all that perfect obedience unto God that the law requires,
could not thereby obtain the benefit of the promise of the cove-
nant. But the sole reason of it is, because he is antecedently a sin-
ner, and so obnoxious unto the curse of the law; and no man can
be obnoxious unto its curse and have a right unto its promise at
the same time. But so to lay the supposition, that the same person
is by any means free from the curse due unto sin, and then to deny
that, upon the performance of that perfect, sinless obedience which
the law requires, he should have right unto the promise of life
thereby, is to deny the truth of God, and to reflect the highest
dishonour upon his justice. Jesus Christ himself was justified by this
law ; and it is immutably true, that he who doth the things of it
shall live therein.
[3.] It is granted that man continued not in the observation of
this law, as it was the ride of the covenant between God and him.
The covenant it was not, but the rule of it ; which, that it should be,
Mi ON JUSTIFICATION.
was superadded unto its being as a law. For the covenant com-
prised things that were not any part of a result from the necessary re-
lation of God and man. Wherefore man, by his sin as unto demerit,
may be said to break this covenant, and as unto any benefit unto
himself, to disannul it. It is also true, that God did never formally
and absolutely renew or give again this law as a covenant a second
time. Nor was there any need that so he should do, unless it were
declaratively only, for so it was renewed at Sinai ; for the whole of it
being an emanation of eternal right and truth, it abides, and must
abide, in full force for ever. Wherefore, it is only thus far broken as a
covenant, that all mankind having sinned against the commands of it,
and so, by guilt, with the impotency unto obedience which ensued
thereon, defeated themselves of any interest in its promise, and pos-
sibility of attaining any such interest, they cannot have any beriefit
by it. But as unto its power to oblige all mankind unto obedience,
and the unchangeable truth of its promises and threatenings, it
abideth the same as it was from the beginning.
(2.) Take away this law, and there is left no standard of right-
eousness unto mankind, no certain boundaries of good and evil, but
those pillars whereon God hath fixed the earth are left to move and
float up and down like the isle of Delos in the sea. Some say, the
rule of good and evil unto men is not this law in its original consti-
tution, but the light of nature and the dictates of reason. If they
mean that light which was primigenial and concreated with our
natures, and those dictates of right and wrong which reason origin-
ally suggested and improved, they only say, in other words, that this
law is still the unalterable rule of obedience unto all mankind. But
if they intend the remaining light of nature that continues in every
individual in this depraved state thereof, and that under such addi-
tional depravations as traditions, customs, prejudices, and lusts of all
sorts, have affixed unto the most, there is nothing more irrational ;
and it is that which is charged with no less inconvenience than that
it leaves no certain boundaries of good and evil. That which is good
unto one, will, on this ground, be in its OAvn nature evil unto another,
and so on the contrary ; and all the idolaters that ever were in the
world might on this pretence be excused.
(3.) Conscience bears witness hereunto. There is no good nor evil
required or forbidden by this law, that, upon the discovery of it, any
man in the world can persuade or bribe his conscience not to comply
with it in judgment, as unto his concernment therein. It will accuse
and excuse, condemn and free him, according to the sentence of this
law, let him do what he can to the contrary.
In brief, it is acknowledged that God, by virtue of his supreme
dominion over all, may, in some instances, change the nature and order
THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED BY GOD. 245
of things, so as that the precepts of the divine law shall not in them
operate in their ordinary efficacy. So was it in the case of his com-
mand unto Abraham to slay his son, and unto the Israelites to rob
the Egyptians. But on a supposition of the continuance of that
order of things which this law is the preservation of, such is the in-
trinsic nature of the good and evil commanded and forbidden there-
in, that it is not the subject of divine dispensation; as even the school-
men generally grant.
10. From what we have discoursed, two things do unavoidably
ensue : —
(1 .) That whereas all mankind have by sin fallen imder the penalty
threatened unto the transgression of this law, — and [the] suffering of
this penalty, which is eternal death, being inconsistent with acceptance
before God, or the enjoyment of blessedness, — it is utterly impossible
that any one individual person of the posterity of Adam should be
justified in the sight of God, accepted with him or blessed by him,
unless this penalty be answered, undergone, and suffered, by them or
for them. The hixaio)ij.ct rov ©sou herein is not to be abolished, but
established.
(2.) That uato the same end, of acceptation ivith God, justification
before him, and blessedness from him, the righteousness of this eter-
nal law must be fulfilled in us in such a way as that, in the judg-
ment of God, which is according unto truth, we may be esteemed to
have fulfilled it, and be dealt with accordingly. For upon a suppo-
sition of a failure herein, the sanction of the law is not arbitrary, so
as that the penalty may or may not be inflicted, but necessary, from
the righteousness of God as the supreme governor of all.
11. About the first of these, our controversy is with the Socinians
only, who deny the satisfaction of Christ, and any necessity thereof.
Concerning this I have treated elscAvhere at large, and expect not to
see an answer unto what I have disputed on that subject. As unto
the latter of them, we must inquire how we may be supposed to com-
ply with the rule, and answer the righteousness of this unalterable
law, whose authority we can no way be exempted from. And that
which we plead is, that the obedience and righteousness of Christ
imputed unto us, — his obedience as the surety of the new covenant,
granted unto us, made ours by the gracious constitution, sovereign
appointment, and donation of God, — is that whereon we are judged
and esteemed to have answered the righteousness of the law. " By
the obedience of one many are made righteous," Rom. v. 19. " That
tlie righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," Rom. viii. 4.
And hence we argue, —
If there be no other way whereby the righteousness of the law
may be fulfilled in us, without which we cannot be justified, but
246 ON JUSTIFICATION.
must fall inevitably under the penalty threatened unto the transgres-
sion of itj but only the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us, then
is that the sole righteousness whereby we are justified in the sight of
God. But the former is true, and so, therefore, is the latter.
12. On the supposition of this law, and its original obligation unto
obedience, with its sanction and threatenings, there can be but one
of three ways whereby we may come to be justified before God, who
have sinned, and are no way able in ourselves to perform the obe-
dience for the future which it doth require. And each of them has
a respect unto a sovereign act of God with reference unto this law.
The first is the abrogation of it, that it should no more oblige us
either unto obedience or punishment. This we have proved impos-
sible; and they will wofully deceive their own souls who shall trust
unto it. The second is by transferring of its obligation, unto the end
of justification, on a surety or common undertaker. This is that
which we plead for, as the substance of the mystery of the gospel,
considering the person and gi-ace of this undertaker or surety. And
herein all things do tend unto the exaltation of the glory of God in
all the holy properties of his nature, with the fulfilling and establish-
ing of the law itself. Matt. v. 17; Rom. iii. 31, viii. 4,,x. 3, 4. The
third way is by an act of God towards the law, and another towards
us, whereby the nature of the righteousness which the law requireth
is changed ; which we shall examine as the only reserve against our
present argument.
1 3. It is said, therefore, that hy our oiun personal obedience we
do ansiuer the righteousness of the law, so far as it is required of
us. But whereas no sober person can imagine that we can, or that
any one in our lapsed condition ever did, yield in our own persons
that perfect, sinless obedience unto God which is required of us in the
law of creation, two things are supposed, that our obedience, such as
it is, may be accepted with God as if it were sinless and perfect.
For althouojh some will not allow that the righteousness of Christ is
imputed unto us for what it is, yet they contend that our own righte-
ousness is imputed unto us for what it is not. Of these things the
one respecteth the law, the other our obedience.
1 4. That which respecteth the law is not the abrogation of it. For
although this would seem the most expedite way for the reconcilia-
tion of this difficulty, — namely, that the law of creation is utterly abro-
gated by the gospel, both as unto its obligation unto obedience and
punishment, and no law is to be continued in force but that which
requires only sincere obedience of us, whereof there is, as unto duties
[and] the manner of their performance, not any absolute rule or mea-
sure,— yet this is not by many pretended. They say not that this law
is so abrogated as that it should not have the power and efficacy of a
THE OBEDIENCE REQUIRED BY GOD. 217
law towards us. Nor is it possible it should be so ; nor can any pretence
be given how it should so be. It is true, it was broken by man, is
so by us all, and that with respect unto its principal end of our sub-
jection unto God and dependence upon him, according to the rule
of it; but it is foolish to think that the fault of those unto whom a
righteous law is rightly given should abrogate or disannul the law
itself. A law that is good and just may cease and expire as unto
any power of obhgation, upon the ceasing or expiration of the rela-
tion which it did respect; so the apostle tells us that "when the
husband of a woman is dead, she is free from the law of her hus-
band," Rom. vii. 2. But the relation between God and us, which
was constituted in our first creation, can never cease. But a law can-
not be abrogated without a new law given, and made by the same or
an equal poAver that made it, either expressly revoking it, or enjoin-
ing things inconsistent with it and contradictory unto its observation.
In the latter way the law of Mosaical institutions was abrogated and
disannulled. There was not any positive law made for the taking of
it away ; but the constitution and introduction of a new way of wor-
ship by the gospel, inconsistent with it and contrary unto it, deprived
it of all its obligatory power and efficacy. But neither of these ways
hath God taken away the obligation of the original law of obedience,
either as unto duties or recompenses of reward. Neither is there
any du'ect law made for its abrogation ; nor hath he given any new law
of moral obedience, either inconsistent with or contrary unto it : yea,
in the gospel it is declared to be established and fulfilled.
It is true, as was observed before, that this law was made the
instrument of a covenant between God and man; and so there is
another reason of it, for God hath actually introduced another cove-
nant inconsistent with it, and contrary unto it. But yet neither doth
this instantly, and " ipso facto," free all men unto the law, in the
way of a covenant. For, unto the obligation of a law, there is no
more required but that the matter of it be just and righteous; that
it be given or made by him who hath just authority so to give or
make it ; and be sufficiently declared unto them who are to be obliged
by it. Hence the making and promulgation of a new law doth
" ipso facto " abrogate any former law that is contrary unto it, and
frees all men from obedience unto it who were before obliged by it.
But in a covenant it is not so. For a covenant doth not operate by
mere sovereign authority; it becomes not a covenant without the con-
sent of them with whom it is made. Wherefore, no benefit accrues
unto any, or freedom from the old covenant, by the constitution of
the new, unless he hath actually complied with it, hath chosen it, and
is interested in it thereby. The first covenant made with Adam, we
did in him consent unto and accept of And therein, notwithstand-
24-8 ON JUSTIFICATION.
ing our sin, do we and must we abide, — that is, under tlie obligation
of it unto duty and punishment, — until by faith we are made partakers
of the new. It cannot therefore be said, that we are not concerned
in the fulfilling of the righteousness of this law, because it is abro-
gated.
15. Nor can it be said that the law hath received a new interpre-
tation, whereby it is declared that it doth not oblige, nor shall be
construed for the future to oblige, any unto sinless and perfect obe-
dience, but may be complied with on far easier terms. For the law
being given unto us when we were sinless, and on purpose to con-
tinue and preserve us in that condition, it is absurd to say that it did
not oblige us unto sinless obedience; and not an interpretation, but
a plain depravation of its sense and meaning. Nor is any such thing
once intimated in the gospel. Yea, the discourses of our Saviour
upon the law are absolutely destructive of any such imagination.
For whereas the scribes and Pharisees had attempted, by their false
glosses and interpretations, to accommodate the law unto the inclina-
tions and lusts of men (a course since pursued both notionally and
practically, as all who design to burden the consciences of men with
their own commands do endeavour constantly to recompense them
by an indulgence with respect unto the commands of God), he, on
the contrary, rejects all such pretended epieikias [accommodations]
and interpretations, restoring the law unto its pristine crown, as the
Jews' tradition is, that the Messiah shall do.
16. Nor can a relaxation of the law be pretended, if there be any
such thing in rule; for if there be, it respects the whole being of
the law, and consists either in the suspension of its v/hole obligation,
at least for a season, or the substitution of another person to answer
its demands, who was not in the original obligation, in the room of
them that were. For so some say that the Lord Christ was made
imder the law for us by an act of relaxation of the original obliga-
tion of the law; how properly, " ipsi viderint." But here, in no sense,
it can have place.
1 7. The act of God towards the law in this case intended, is a de-
rogation from its obliging power as unto obedience. For whereas
it did originally oblige unto perfect, sinless obedience in all duties,
both as unto their substance and the manner of their performance,
it shall be allowed to oblige us still unto obedience, but not unto that
which is absolutely the same, especially not as unto the completeness
and perfection of it ; for if it do so, either it is fulfilled in the right-
eousness of Christ for us, or no man living can ever be justified in
the sight of God. Wherefore, by an act of derogation from its ori-
ginal power, it is provided that it shall oblige us still unto obedience,
but not that which is absolutely sinless and j^erfect; but although it
THE OBEDIENCE EEQUIRED BY GOD, 249
be performed with less intension of love unto God, or in a lower de-
gTee than it did at first require, so it be sincere and universal as unto
all the parts of it, it is all that the law now requireth of us. This is
all that it now requires, as it is adapted unto the service of the new
covenant, and made the rule of obedience according to the law of
Christ. Hereby is its preceptive part, so far as we are concerned in
it, answered and complied withal. Whether these things are so or
no, we shall see immediately in a few words.
18. Hence it follows, that the act of God with respect unto our
obedience is not an act of judgment according unto any rule or law
of his own ; but an acceptilation, or an esteeming, accounting, accept-
ing that as perfect, or in the room of that which is perfect, which
really and in truth is not so.
19. It is added, that both these depend on, and are the procure-
ments of, the obedience, suffering, and merits of Christ. For on
their account it is that our weak and imperfect obedience is accepted
as if it were perfect ; and the power of the law, to require obedience
absolutely perfect, is taken away. And these being the effects of
the righteousness of Christ, that righteousness may on their account,
and so far, be said to be imputed unto us.
20. But notwithstanding the great endeavours that have been used
to give a colour of truth unto these things, they are both of them but
fictions and imaginations of men, that have no ground in the Scrip-
ture, nor do comply with the experience of them that believe. For
to touch a little on the latter, in the first place, there is no true be-
liever but hath these two things fixed in his mind and conscience, —
(1.) That there is nothing in principles, habits, qualities, or actions,
wherein he comes short of a perfect compliance with the holy law of
God, even as it requires perfect obedience, but that it hath in it the
nature of sin, and that in itself deserving the curse annexed origi-
nally unto the breach of that law. They do not, therefore, apprehend
that its obhgation is taken off, weakened, or derogated from in any
thing. (2.) That there is no relief for him, with respect unto what
the law requires or unto what it threatens, but by the mediation of
Jesus Christ alone, who of God is made righteousness unto him.
Wherefore, they do not rest in or on the acceptation of their own
obedience, such as it is, to answer the law, but trust unto Christ
alone for their acceptation with God.
21. They are both of them doctrinally untrue; for as unto the
former, — (1.) It is unwritten. There is no intimation in the Scripture
of any such dispensation of God with reference unto the original law
of obedience. Much is spoken of our deliverance from the curse of
the law by Christ, but of the abatement of its preceptive power no-
thing at all. (2.) It is contrary to the Scripture; for it is plainly
250 ox JUSTIFICATION.
affirmed tliat the law is not to be abolislied, but fulfilled; not to bo
made void, but to be established; that the righteousness of it must
be fulfilled in us. (3.) It is a supposition both unreasonable and impos-
sible. For, — [1.] The law was a representation unto us of the holi-
ness of God, and his righteousness in the government of his creatures.
There can be no alteration made herein, seeing with God himself
there is no variableness nor shadow of changing. [2.] It would leave
no standard of righteousness, but only a Lesbian rule, which turns
and applies itself unto the light and abilities of men, and leaves at
least as many various measures of righteousness as there are believers
in the world. [3.] It includes a variation in the centre of all religion,
which is the natural and moral relation of men unto God; for so
there must be, if all that was once necessary thereunto do not still
continue so to be. [4.] It is dishonourable unto the mediation of
Christ; for it makes the principal end of it to be, that God should
accept of a righteousness unto our justification inexpressibly beneath
that which he required in the law of our creation. And this in a
sense makes him the minister of sui, or that he hath procured an in-
dulgence unto it ; not by the way of satisfaction and pardon, whereby
he takes away the guilt of it from the church, but by taking from it
its nature and demerit, so as that what was so originally should not
continue so to be, or at least not to deserve the punishment it was
first threatened withal. [5.] It reflects on the goodness of God him-
self; for on this supposition, that he hath reduced his law into that
state and order as to be satisfied by an observation of it so weak, so
imperfect, accompanied with so many failures and sins, as it is with
the obedience of the best men in this world (whatever thoughts unto
the contrary the frenzy of pride may suggest unto the minds of any),
what reason can be given, consistent with his goodness, why he should
give a law at first of perfect obedience, which one sin laid all man-
kind under the penalty of unto their ruin?
22. All these things, and sundry others of the same kiud, do follow
also on the second supposition, of an acceptilation or an imaginary
estimation of that as perfect which is imperfect, as sinless which is
attended with sins innumerable. But the judgment of God is accord-
ing unto truth; neither will he reckon that unto us for a perfect
righteousness in his sight which is so imperfect as to be like tattered
rags, especially having promised unto us robes of righteousness and
garments of salvation.
That which necessarily folio weth on these discourses is, That there
is no other way whereby the original, immutable law of God may
be established and fulfilled with respect unto us, but by the imputa-
tion of the perfect obedience and righteousness of Christ, who is tJie
end of the law for righteousness unto all that do believe.
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST S OBEDIENCE. 2ol
CHAPTER XII.
The imputation of tlie obedience of Christ unto the lav/ declared and vindicated.
From the foregoing general argument another doth issue in par-
cular, with respect unto the imputation of the active obedience or
righteousness of Christ unto us, as an essential part of that righteous-
ness whereon we are justified before God. And it is as foUoweth : —
" If it Avere necessary that the Lord Christ, as our surety, should
undergo the penalty of the law for us, or in our stead, because we
have all sinned, then it was necessary also that, as our surety, he
should yield obedience unto the preceptive part of the law for us also ;
and if the imputation of the former be needful for us unto our justi-
fication before God, then is the imputation of the latter also necessary
unto the same end and purpose." For why was it necessary, or why
would God have it so, that the Lord Christ, as the surety of the co-
venant, should undergo the curse and penalty of the law, which we
had incurred the guilt of by sin, that we may be justified in his sight?
Was it not that the glory and honour of his righteousness, as the au-
thor of the law, and the supreme governor of all mankind thereby,
might not be violated in the aljsolute impunity of the infringers of it?
And if it ^veve requisite unto the glory of God that the penalty of the
law should be undergone for us, or suffered by our surety in our stead,
because we had sinned, wherefore is it not as requisite unto the glory
of God that the 2^'^'sceptive imrt of the law lie complied withal for
us, inasmuch as obedience thereunto is required of us? And as we
are no more able of ourselves to fulfil the law in a way of obedi-
ence than to undergo the penalty of it, so as that we may be justified
thereby ; so no reason can be given why God is not as much concerned,
in honour and glory, that the preceptive power and part of the law be
complied withal by perfect obedience, as that the sanction of it be
established by undergoing the penalty of it. Upon the same grounds,
therefore, that the Lord Christ's suffermg the penalty of the law for us
was necessary that we might be justified in the sight of God, and that
the satisfaction he made [might] thereby be imputed unto us, as if we
ourselves had made satisfaction unto God, as Bellarmine speaks and
grants; on the same it was equally necessary, — that is, as unto the
gloiy and honour of the Legislator and supreme Governor of all by
the law, — that he should fulfil the preceptive part of it, in his per-
fect obedience thereunto \ which also is to be imputed unto us for our
justification.
Conceniing the first of these, — namely, the satisfaction of Christ,
252 ON JUSTIFICATION.
and the imputation of it unto us, — our principal difference is witli the
Socinians. And I have elsewhere written so much in the vindica-
tion of the truth therein, that I shall not here again re-assume the
same argument; it is here, therefore, taken for granted, although I
know that there are some different apprehensions about the notion of
Christ's suffering in our stead, and of the imputation of those suffer-
ings unto us. But I shall here take no notice of them, seeing I press
this argument no farther, but only so far forth that the obedience of
Christ unto the law, and the imputation thereof unto us, are no less
necessary unto our justification before God, than his suffering of the
penalty of the law, and the imputation thereof unto us, unto the
same end. The nature of this imputation, and what it is formally
that is imputed, we have considered elsewhere.
That the obedience of Christ the mediator is thus imputed to us,
shall be afterward proved in particular by testimonies of the Scrip-
ture. Here I intend only the vindication of the argument as before
laid down, which will take us up a little more time than ordinary.
For there is nothing in the whole doctrine of justification which
meets with a more fierce and various opposition; but the truth is
great, and will prevail.
The things that are usually objected and vehemently urged against
the imputation of the obedience of Christ unto our justification, may
be reduced rmto three heads: — I. That it is impossible. II. That
it is useless. III. That it is pernicious to believe it. And if the
arguments used for the enforcement of these objections be as cogent
as the charge itself is fierce and severe, they will unavoidably over-
throw the persuasions of it in the minds of all sober persons. But
there is ofttimes a wide difference between what is said and what is
proved, as will appear in the present case: —
I. It is pleaded impossible, on this single ground, — namely, " That
the obedience of Christ unto the law was due from him on his own
account, and performed by him for himself, as a man made under the
law." Now, what was necessary unto himself, and done for himself,
cannot be said to be done for us, so as to be imputed unto us.
II. It is pretended to be useless from hence, because all " our sins
of omission and commission being pardoned in our justification on the
account of the death and satisfaction of Christ, we are thereby made
completely righteous; so as that there is not the least necessity fcfTf,
or use of, the imputation of the obedience of Christ unto us."
III. Pernicious also they say it is, as that which takes away " the
necessity of our own personal obedience, introducing antinomianism,
libertinism, and all manner of evils."
For this last part of the charge, I refer it unto its proper place;
for although it be urged by some against this part of the doctrine of
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE. 253
justification in a peculiar manner, yet is it managed by others against
the whole of it. And although we should grant that the obedience
of Christ unto the law is not imputed unto us unto our justification,
yet shall we not be freed from disturbance by this false accusation,
imless we will renounce the Avhole of the satisfaction and merit of
Christ also ; and we intend not to purchase our peace with the whole
world at so dear a rate. Wherefore, I shall in its proper place give
this part of the charge its due consideration, as it reflects on the
whole doctrine of justification, and all the causes thereof, which we
believe and profess.
I. The first part of this charge, concerning the impossibility of the
imputation of the obedience of Christ unto us, is insisted on by So-
cinus de Servat, part iii. cap. 5. And there hath been nothing since
pleaded unto the same purpose but what hath been derived from
him, or wherein, at least, he hath not prevented the inventions of
other men, and gone before them. And he makes this consideration
the principal engine wherewith he endeavours the overthrow of the
whole doctrine of the merit of Christ; for he supposeth that if all
he did in a way of obedience was due from himself on his own ac-
count, and was only the duty which he owed unto God for himself
in his station and circumstances, as a man in this world, it cannot be
meritorious for us, nor any way imputed unto us. And in like man-
ner, to weaken the doctrine of his satisfaction, and the imputation
thereof unto us, he contends that Christ offered as a priest for him-
self, in that kind of ofl^ering which he made on the cross, part ii. cap.
22. And his real opinion was, that whatever was of offering or
sacrifice in the death of Christ, it was for himself; that is, it was an
act of obedience unto God, which pleased him, as the savour of a
sweet-smelling sacrifice. His offering for us is only the presentation
of himself in the presence of God in heaven ; now he hath no more
to do for himself in a way of duty. And the truth is, if the obedi-
ence of Christ had respect unto himself only, — that is, if he yielded
it unto God on the necessity of his condition, and did not do it for
us, — I see no foundation left to assert his merit upon, no more than
I do for the imputation of it unto them that believe.
That which we plead is, that the Lord Christ fidfilled the luhole
law for us; he did not only undergo the penalty of it due unto our
sins, but also yielded that perfect obedience which it did require.
And herein I shall not immix myself in the debate of the distinction
between the active and passive obedience of Christ ; for he exercised
the highest active obedience in his suffering, when he offered himself
to God through the eternal Spirit. And all his obedience, considering
his person, was mixed with suffering, as a part of his exinanition and
humiliation ; whence it is said, that " though he were a Son, yet
254 ON JUSTIFICATION.
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." And how-
ever doing and suffering are in various categories of things, yet
Scripture testimonies are not to be regulated by j)hilosophical arti-
fices and terms. And it must needs be said, that the sufferings of
Christ, as they were purely penal, are imperfectly called his passive
righteousness; for all righteousness is either in habit or in action,
Avhereof suffering is neither ; nor is any man righteous, or so esteemed,
from what he suffereth. Neither do sufferings give satisfaction unto
the commands of the law, which require only obedience. And hence
it will unavoidably follow, that we have need of more than the mere
sufferings of Christ, whereby we may be justified before God, if so be
that any righteousness be required thereunto ; but the whole of what
I intend is, that Christ's fulfilling of the law, in obedience unto its
commands, is no less imputed unto us for our justification than his
undergoing the penalty of it is.
I cannot but judge it sounds ill in the ears of all Christians, " That
the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, as our mediator and surety,
unto the whole law of God, was for himself alone, and not for us ;"
or, that what he did therein was not that he might be the end of the
law for righteousness unto them that do believe, nor a means of the
fulfilling of the righteousness of the law in us ; — especially consider-
ing that the faith of the church is, that he was given to us, born to
us; that for us men, and for our salvation, he came down from hea-
ven, and did and suffered what was required of him. But whereas
some who deny the imputation of the obedience of Christ unto us
for our justification, do insist principally on the second thing men-
tioned,— namely, the unusefulness of it, — I shall under this part
of the charge consider only the arguings of Socinus; which is the
whole of what some at present do endeavour to perplex the truth
withal.
To this purpose is his discourse, part iii. cap. 5. De Servat. : " Jam
vero manifestum est, Christum quia homo natus fuerat, et quid em,
ut inquit Paulus, factus sub lege, legi divinas inquam, qua3 roterua et
immutabilis est, non minus quam casteri homines obnoxiuni fuisse.
Alioqui potuisset Christus geternam Dei legem negligere, sive etiam
universam si voluisset infringere, qviod impium est vel cogitare.
Immo ut supra alicubi explicatum fuit, nisi ipse Christus legi divinge
servandae obnoxius fuisset, ut ex Pauli verbis colligitur, non potuis-
set iis, qui ei legi servandas obnoxii sunt, opem ferre et eos ad im-
mortalitatis firmam spem traducere. Non differebat igitur hac qui-
dem ex parte Christus, quando homo natus erat, a ca?teris hominibus.
Quocirca nee etiam pro aliis, magis quam quilibet alius homo, legem
divinam conservando satisfacere potuit, C[uippe qui ipse earn servare
omnino debuit." I have transcribed his words, that it may appear
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST S OBEDIENCE. 255
with whose weapons some young disputers among ourselves do con-
tend against the truth.
The substance of his plea is, — that our Lord Jesus Christ was for
himself, or on his own account, obliged unto all that obedience which
he performed. And this he endeavours to prove with this reason, —
" Because if it were otherwise, then he might, if he would, have
neglected the whole law of God, and have broken it at his pleasure."
For he forgot to consider, that if he were not obliged unto it upon
his o^vn account, but was so on ours, whose cause he had undertaken,
the obligation on him unto most perfect obedience was equal to
what it would have been had he been originally obliged on his own ac-
count. However, hence he infers " That what he did could not be for
us, because it was so for himself ; no more than what any other man
is bound to do in a way of duty for himself can be esteemed to have
been done also for another." For he will allow of none of those con-
siderations of the person of Christ which make what he did and suf-
fered of another nature and efficacy than what can be done or suf-
fered by any other man. All that he adds in the process of his dis-
course is, — " That whatever Christ did that was not required by the
law in general, was upon the especial command of God, and so done
for himself; whence it cannot be imputed unto us." And hereby he
excludes the church from any benefit by the mediation of Christ,
])ut only what consists in his doctrine, example, and the exercise of
his power in heaven for our good ; which was the thing that he aimed
at. But we shall consider those also which make use of his arguments,
though not as yet openly unto all his ends.
To clear the truth herein, the things ensuing must be observed, —
1. The obedience we treat of was the obedience of Christ the me-
diator: but the obedience of Christ, as "the mediator of the cove-
nant," was the obedience of his person; for " God redeemed his
church with his own blood," Acts xx. 28. It was performed in tlie
human nature; but the person of Christ was he that performed it.
As in the person of a man, some of his acts, as to the immediate
principle of operation, are acts of the body, and some are so of the
soul ; yet, in their performance and accomplishment, are they the acts
of the person: so the acts of Christ in his mediation, as to their
hspyrifiara, or immediate operation, were the actings of his distinct
natures, — some of the divine and some of the human, immediately;
but as unto their d'^ronXsff/Mara, and the perfecting efficacy of them,
they were the acts of his whole person, — his acts who was that person,
and whose power of operation was a property of his person. Where-
fore, the obedience of Christ, which we plead to have been for us, was
tlie obedience of the Son of God ; but the Son of God was never ab-
solutely made ucro y6,'j,ov, — " under the law," — nor could be formally
256 ox JUSTIFICATION.
obliged thereby. He was, indeed, as tlie apostle witnesseth, made
so in his human nature, wherein he performed this obedience : " Made
of a woman, made under the law," Gal. iv. 4. He was so far forth
made under the law, as he was inade of a woman ; for in his person
he abode " Lord of the sabbath," Mark ii. 28; and therefore of the
whole law. But the obedience itself was the obedience of that per-
son who never was, nor ever could absolutely be, made under the
law in his whole person; for the divine nature cannot be subjected
unto an outward work of its own, siich "as tlie' law is, nor can it have
an authoritative, commanding power over it, as it must have if it
were made t-Tro v6/jlov, — " under the law." Thus the apostle argues
that " Levi paid tithes in Abraham," because he was then in his
loins, when Abraham himself paid tithes unto Melchizedek, Heb. vii.
And thence he proves that he was inferior imto the Lord Christ, of
whom Melchizedek was a type. But may it not thereon be replied,
that then no less the Lord Christ was in the loins of Abraham than
Levi? " For verily," as the same apostle speaks, "he took on him
the seed of Abraham." It is true, therefore, that he was so in re-
spect of his human nature; but as he was typed and represented by
Melchizedek in his whole person, " without father, w^ithout mother,
without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life," so he
was not absolutely in Abraham's loins, and was exempted from being
tithed in him. Wherefore, the obedience whereof we treat, being
not the obedience of the human nature abstractedly, however jDer-
formed in and by the human nature; but the obedience of the person
of the Son of God, however the human nature was subject to the
law (in what sense, and unto Avhat ends, shall be declared afterward) ;
it was not for himself, nor could be for himself; because his whole
person was not obliged thereunto. It is therefore a fond thing, to
compare the obedience of Christ with that of any other man, whose
whole person is under the law. For although that may not be for
himself and others (which yet we shall show that in some cases it
may), yet this may, yea, must be for others, and not for himself.
This, then, we must strictly hold unto. If the obedience that Christ
yielded unto the law were for himself, whereas it was the act of his
person, Jiis tuhole jjerson, and the divine nature therein, were " made
under the law;" which cannot be. For although it is acknowledged
that, in the ordination of God, his exinanition was to precede his
glorious, majestical exaltation, as the Scripture witnesseth, Phil. ii. 9 ;
Luke xxiv. 26; Rom. xiv. 9; yet absolutely his glory was an imme-
diate consequent of the hypostatical union, Heb. i. 6; Matt. ii. 11.
Socinus, I confess, evades the force of this argument, by denying
the divine person of Christ. But in this disputation I take that for
granted, as having proved it elsewhere beyond what any of his fol-
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE. 257
lowers are able to contradict. And if we may not build on truths
by him denied, we shall scarce have any one principle of evangelical
truth left us to prove any thing from. However, I intend them only
at present who concur with him in the matter under debate, but
renounce his opinion concerning the person of Christ.
2. As our Lord Jesus Christ owed not in his own person this obe-
dience for himself, by virtue of any authority or power that the law
had over him, so he designed and intended it not for himself, hut
for us. This, added unto the former consideration, gives full evi-
dence unto the truth pleaded for ; for if he was not obliged unto it
for himself, — his person that yielded it not being under the law, —
and if he intended it not for himself; then it must be for us, or be
useless. It was in our human nature that he performed all this obe-
dience. Now, the susception of our nature was a voluntary act of
his own, with reference unto some end and purpose ; and that which
was the end of the assumption of our nature was, in like manner,
the end of all that he did therein. Now, it was for us, and not for
himself, that he assumed our nature ; nor was any thing added unto
him thereby. Wherefore, in the issue of his work, he proposeth this
only unto himself, that he may be " glorified with that glory which
he had with the Father before the world was," by the removal of
that vail which was put upon it in his exinanition. But that it was
for us that he assumed our nature, is the foundation of Christian
religion, as it is asserted by the apostle, Heb. ii. 14 ; Phil. ii. 5-8.
Some of the ancient schoolmen disputed, that the Son of God
should have been incarnate although man had not sinned and fallen ;
the same opinion was fiercely pursued by Osiander, as I have else-
where declared : but none of them once imagined that he should
have been so made man as to be made under the law, and be
obliged thereby unto that obedience which now he hath performed ;
but they judged that immediately he was to have been a glorious
head unto the whole creation. For it is a common notion and pre-
sumption of all Christians, but only such as will sacrifice such notions
unto their own private conceptions, that the obedience which Christ
yielded unto the law on the earth, in the state and condition wherein
he yielded it, was not for himself, but for the church, which was
obliged unto perfect obedience, but was not able to accomplish it.
That this was his sole end and design in it is a fundamental article,
if I mistake not, of the creed of most Christians in the world ; and
to deny it doth consequentially overthrow all the grace and love both
of the Father and [of the] Son in his mediation.
It is said, " That this obedience was necessary as a qualification of
his person, that he might be meet to be a mediator for us; and there-
fore was for hhnself " It belongs unto the necessary constitution of
VOL. V. 17
258 ON JUSTIFICATION.
his person, with respect unto his mediatory work ; but this I posi-
tively deny. The Lord Christ was every way meet for the whole
work of mediation, by the ineffable union of the human nature with
the divine, which exalted it in dignity, honour, and worth, above
any thing or all things that ensued thereon. For hereby he became
in his whole person the object of all divine worship and honour; for
"when he bringeth the First-begotten into the world, he saith. And let
all the angels of God worship him." Again, that Avhich is an effect
of the person of the Mediator, as constituted such, is not a qualifica-
tion necessary unto its constitution ; that is, what he did as media-
tor did not concur to the making of him meet so to be. But of this
nature was all the obedience which he yielded unto the law; for as
such " it became him to fulfil all righteousness."
Whereas, therefore, he was neither made man nor of the posterity
of Abraham for himself, but for the church, — namely, to become
thereby the surety of the covenant, and representative of the whole,
— his obedience as a man unto the law in general, and as a son of
Abraham unto the law of Moses, was for us, and not for himself, so
designed, so performed; and, without a respect unto the church, was
of no use unto himself He was born to us, and given to us; lived
for us, and died for us ; obeyed for us, and suffered for us ; — that " by
the obedience of one many might be made righteous." This was the
" grace of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and this is the faith of the catholic
church. And what he did for us is imputed unto us. This is in-
cluded in the very notion of his doing it for us, which cannot be
spoken in any sense, unless that which he so did be imputed unto
us. And I think men ought to be wary that they do not, by dis-
tinctions and studied evasions, for the defence of their own private
opinions, shake the foundations of Christian religion. And I am sure
it will be easier for them, as it is in the proverb, to wrest the club
out of the hand of Hercules, than to dispossess the minds of true
believers of this persuasion: " That what the Lord Christ did in obe-
dience unto God, according unto the law, he designed in his love and
grace to do it for them." He needed no obedience for himself, he
came not into a capacity of yielding obedience for himself, but for us ;
and therefore for us it was that he fulfilled the law in obedience unto
God, according unto the terms of it. The obligation that was on him
unto obedience was originally no less for us, no less needful unto us,
no more for himself, no more necessary unto him, than the obhgation
was on him, as the surety of the covenant, to suffer the penalty of the
law, was either tlie one or the other.
3. Setting aside the consideration of the grace and love of Christ,
and the compact between the Father and the Son as unto his under-
taking for us, which undeniably proves all that he did in the pursuit
THE I3IPUTATI0N OF CHRTST'S OBEDIENCE. 259
of tliem to be done for us, and not for himself; I say, setting aside
the consideration of these things, and the human nature of Christ, by-
virtue of its union with the person of the Son of God, had a right
unto, and might have immediately been admitted into, the highest
glory whereof it was capable, without any antecedent obedience unto
the law. And this is apparent from hence, in that, from the first /
instant of that union, the whole person of Christ, with our nature
existing therein, was the object of all divine worship from angels and
men ; wherein consists the highest exaltation of that nature.
It is true, there was a 'peculiar glory that he was actually to be
made partaker of, with respect unto his antecedent obedience and
suffering, Phil. ii. 8, 9. The actual possession of this glory was, in
the ordination of God, to be consequential unto his obeying and
suffering, not for himself, but for us. But as unto the right and
capacity of the human nature in itself, all the glory whereof it was
capable was due unto it from the instant of its union; for it was
therein exalted above the condition that any creature is capable of
by mere creation. And it is but a Socinian fiction, that the first
foundation of the divine glory of Christ was laid in his obedience,
which was only the way of his actual possession of that part of his
glory which consists in his mediatory power and authority over all.
The real foundation of the whole was laid in the union of his person;
whence he prays that the Father would glorify him (as unto mani-
festation) with that glory which he had with him before the world
was.
I %vill grant that the Lord Christ was " viator" whilst he was in
this world, and not absolutely " possessor;" yet I say withal, he was
so, not that any such condition was necessary unto him for himself,
but he took it upon him by especial dispensation for us. And, there-
foi'e, the obedience he j^erformed • in that condition was for us, and
not for himself.
4. It is granted, therefore, that the human nature of Christ was
made i/co vd/iov, as the apostle affirms, " That which was made of a
woman, was made under the law." Hereby obedience became neces-
sary unto him, as he was and whilst he was " viator." But this
being by especial dispensation, — intimated in the expression of it, he
Avas " made under the law," namely, as he was " made of a woman,"
by especial dispensation and condescension, expressed, Phil. ii. 6-8, — ■
the obedience he yielded thereon was for us, and not for himself.
And this is evident from hence, for he was so made under the law
as that not only he owed obedience unto the precepts of it, but he
was made obnoxious unto its curse. But I suppose it will not be said
that he was so for himself, and therefore not for us. We owed obe-
dience unto the law, and were obnoxious unto the curse of it, or
260 ON JUSTIFICATION.
y-TTohxoi tCj QiM. Obedience was required of us, and was as necessary
unto us if we would enter into life, as the answering of the curse for
us was if we would escape death eternal. Christ, as our surety, is
" made under the law" for us, whereby he becomes liable and obliged
unto the obedience which the law required, and unto the penalty
that it threatened. Who shall now dare to say that he underwent
the penalty of the law for us indeed, but he yielded obedience unto
it for himself only ? The whole harmony of the work of his media-
tion would be disordered by such a supposition.
Judah, the son of Jacob, undertook to be a bondman instead of
Benjamin his brother, that he might go free. Gen. xliv. 83. There
is no doubt but Joseph might have accepted of the stipulation. Had
he done so, the service and bondage he undertook had been neces-
saiy unto Judah, and righteous for him to bear: howbeit he had
undergone it, and performed his duty in it, not for himself, but for
his brother Benjamin ; and unto Benjamin it would have been im-
puted in his liberty. So when the apostle Paul wrote these words
unto Philemon concerning Onesimus, E/ d's n ridl-Ariss as, rj o(pu\u, touto
lfj.ol sXXoyn, lyu u'TTorlsai, verse 18, — " ' If he hath wronged thee,' dealt
unrighteously or injuriously with thee, ' or oweth thee ought/ wherein
thou hast suffered loss by him, ' put that on mine account,' or impute
it all unto me, ' I will repay it,' or answer for it all," — he supposeth
that Philemon might have a double action against Onesimus, the one
" injuriarum," and the other " damni" or " debiti," of wrong and in-
jury, and of loss or debt, which are distinct actions in the law: " If
he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought." Hereon he proposeth
himself, and obligeth himself by his express obligation: 'Eyw UavXog
iypa-^a -rfj s/ijJj' %£/p/, — " I Paul have written it with mine own hand,"
.that he would answer for both, and pay back a valuable consideration
if required. Hereby was he obliged in his own person to make satis-
faction unto Philemon; but yet he was to do it for Onesimus, and
not for himself. Whatever obedience, therefore, was due from the
Lord Christ, as to his human nature, whilst in the form of a servant,
either as a man or as an Israelite, seeing he was so not necessarily,
by the necessity of nature for himself, but by voluntary condescen-
sion and stipulation for us; for us it was, and not for himself
5. The Lord Christ, in his obedience, was not a private but a piih-
lic person. He obeyed as he was the surety of the covenant, — as the
mediator between God and man. This, I suppose, will not be denied.
He can by no imagination be considered out of that capacity. But
what a public person doth as a public person, — that is, as a represen-
tative of others, and an tmdertaker for them, — whatever may be his
own concernment therein, he doth it not for himself, but for others.
And if others were not concerned therein, if it were not for them,
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE, 261
what he doth would be of no use or signification ; yea, it implies a
contradiction that any one should do any thing as a public person,
and do it for himself only. He who is a public pei'son may do that
wherein he alone is concerned, but he cannot do so as he is a public
person. Wherefore, as Socinus, and those that follow him, would
have Christ to have offered for himself, which is to make him a me-
diator for himself, his offering being a mediately act, which is both
foolish and impious; so to affirm his mediatory obedience, his obe-
dience as a public person, to have been for himself, and not for others,
hath but little less of impiety in it.
6. It is granted, that the Lord Christ having a human nature,
which was a creature, it was impossible but that it should be subject
unto the latu of creation; for there is a relation that doth necessarily
arise from, and depend upon, the beings of a creator and a creature.
Every rational creature is eternally obliged, from the nature of God,
and its relation thereunto, to love him, obey him, depend upon him,
submit unto him, and to make him its end, blessedness, and reward.
But the law of creation, thus considered, doth not respect the world
and this life only, but the future state of heaven and eternity also ;
and this law the human nature of Christ is subject unto in heaven
and glory, and cannot but be so whilst it is a creature, and not God, —
that is, whilst it hath its own being. Nor do any men fancy such a
transfusion of divine properties into the human nature of Christ, as
that it should be self -subsisting, and in itself absolutely immense;
for this would openly destroy it. Yet none will say that he is now
u'TTo vo/Mov, — " under the law," — in the sense intended by the apostle.
But the law, in the sense described, the human nature of Christ was
subject unto, on its own account, whilst he was in this world. And
this is sufficient to answer the objection of Socinus, mentioned at the
entrance of this discourse, — namely, that if the Lord Christ were not
obliged unto obedience for himself, then might he, if he would, ne-
glect the whole law, or infringe it; for besides that it is a foolish
imagination concerning that " holy thing " which was hypostatically
united unto the Son of God, and thereby rendered incapable of any
deviation from the divine will, the eternal, indispensable law of love,
adherence, and dependence on God, under which the human nature
of Christ was, and is, as a creature, gives sufficient security against
such suppositions.
But there is another consideration of the law of God,- — namely, as
it is imposed on creatures by especial dispensation, for some time and
for some certain end, with some considerations, rules, and orders that
belong not essentially unto the law ; as before described. This is the
nature of the wi'itten law of God, which the Lord Christ was made
under, not necessarily, as a creature, but by especial dispensation. For
262 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the law, under this consideration, is presented unto us as such, not
absohitely and eternally, but whilst we are in this world, and that
with this especial end, that by obedience thereunto we may obtain
the reward of eternal life. And it is evident that the obligation of
the law, under this consideration, ceaseth when we come to the en-
jojTnent of that reward. It obligeth us no more foraially by its com-
mand, " Do this, and live," when the life promised is enjoyed. In
this sense the Lord Christ was not made subject unto the law for
himself, nor did yield obedience unto it for himself; for he was not
obliged unto it by virtue of his created condition. Upon the first
instant of the union of his natures, being " holy, harmless, undefiled,
• and separate from sinners," he might, notwithstanding the law that
\ he was made subject unto, have been stated in glory; for he that was
"^ the object of all divine worship needed not any new obedience to pro-
cure for him a state of blessedness. And had he naturally, merely
by virtue of his being a creature, been subject unto the law in this
sense, he must have been so eternally, which he is not ; for those
.things which depend solely on the natures of God and the creature
are eternal and immutable. Wherefore, as the law in this sense was
given unto us, not absolutely, but with respect unto a future state
and reward, so the Lord Christ did voluntarily subject himself unto
it for us ; and his obedience thereunto was for us, and not for himself.
These things, added unto what I have formerly written on this sub-
ject, whereunto nothing hath been opposed but a few impertinent
cavils, are sufficient to discharge the first part of that charge laid
down before, concerning the impossibihty of the imputation of the
obedience of Christ unto us ; which, indeed, is equal unto the impos-
sibility of the imputation of the disobedience of Adam unto us,
whereby the apostle tells us that " we were all made sinners."
II. The second part of the objection or charge against the impu-
tation of the obedience of Christ unto us is, " That it is useless unto
the persons that are to be justified; for whereas they have in their
justification the pardon of all their sins, they are thereby righteous,
and have a right or title unto life and blessedness; for he who is so
pardoned as not to be esteemed giiilty of any sin of omission or com-
mission wants nothing that is requisite thereunto ; for he is supposed
to have done all that he ought, and to have omitted nothing required
of him in a way of duty. Hereby he becomes not unrighteous ; and
to be not unrighteous is the same as to be righteous ; as he that is
not dead is alive. Neither is there, nor can there be, any middle
state between death and life. Wherefore, those who have all their
sins forgiven have the blessedness of justification; and there is neither
need nor use of any farther imputation of righteousness unto them."
And sundry other things of the same nature are urged unto the same
THE IMPUTATION OF CHKIST's OBEDIENCE. 2b'3
purpose, which will be all of them either obviated in the ensuing
discourse, or answered elsewhere.
Ans. This cause is of more importance, and more evidently stated
in the Scriptures, than to be turned into such niceties, which have
more of 2^^^ilosophical suhtilty than theological solidity in them.
This exception, therefore, might be dismissed without farther answer
than what is given us in the known rule, that a truth well established
and confirmed is not to be questioned, much less relinquished, on
every entangling sophism, though it should appear insoluble ; but, as
we shall see, there is no such difficulty in these arguings but what
may easily be discussed. And because the matter of the plea con-
tained in them is made use of by sundry learned persons, who yet
agree with us in the substance of the doctrine of justification, —
namely, that it is by faith alone, without works, through the imputa-
tion of the merit and satisfaction of Christ, — I shall, as briefly as I
can, discover the mistakes that it proceeds upon.
1. It includes a supposition, that he tuho is pardoned his sins of
omission and commission, is esteemed to have done all that is re-
quired of him, and to have committed nothing that is forbidden; for,
without this supposition, the bare pardon of sin will neither make^
constitute, nor denominate any man righteous. But this is far other-
wise, nor is any such thing included in the nature of pardon : for, in
the pardon of sin, neither God nor man doth judge that he who hath
sinned hath not sinned ; which must be done, if he who is pardoned
be esteemed to have done all that he ought, and to have done no-
thing that he ought not to do. If a man be brought on his trial for any
evil act, and, being legally convicted thereof, is discharged by sove-
reign pardon, it is true that, in the eye of the law, he is looked upon
as an innocent man, as unto the punishment that was due unto him;
but no man thinks that he is made righteous thereby, or is esteemed
not to have done that which really he hath done, and whereof he
was convicted. Joab, and Abiathar the priest, were at the same time
guilty of the same crime. Solomon gives order that Joab be put
to death for his crime; but unto Abiathar he gives a pardon. Did
he thereby make, declare, or constitute him righteous? Himself
expresseth the contrary, affirming him to be unrighteous and guilty,
only he remitted the punishment of his fault, 1 Kings ii. 26. Where-
fore, the pardon of sin dischargeth the guilty person from being liable
or obnoxious unto anger, wrath, or punishment due unto his sin; but
it doth not suppose, nor infer in the least, that he is thereby, or ought
thereon, to be esteemed or adjudged to have done no evil, and to have
fulfilled all righteousness. Some saj^, pardon gives a righteousness
of innocency, but, not of obedience. But it cannot give a righteous-
ness of innocency absolutely, such as Adam had ; for he had actually
264 ON JUSTIFICATION.
done no evil. It only removetli guilt, whicli is the respect of sin
unto punishment, ensuing on the sanction of the law. And this
supposition, which is an evident mistake, animates this whole ob-
jection.
The like may be said of what is in like manner supposed, —
namely, that not to be unrighteous, which a man is on the pardon of
sin, is the same mth being righteous. For if not to be unrighteous be
taken pr-ivatively, it is the same with being just or righteous: for it
supposeth that he who is so hath done all the duty that is required
of him that he may be righteous. But not to be unrighteous nega-
tively, as the expression is here used, it doth not do so : for, at best,
it su^Dposeth no more but that a man as yet hath done nothing
actually against the rule of righteousness. Now this may be when
yet he hath performed none of the duties that are required of him to
constitute him righteous, because the times and occasions of them
are not yet. And so it was with Adam in the state of innocency;
which is the height of what can be attained by the complete pardon
of sin.
2. It proceeds on this supposition, that the laiu, in case of sin,
doth not oblige unto punishment and obedience both, so as that it
is not satisfied, fulfilled, or complied withal, unless it be answered
with respect unto both; for if it doth so, then the pardon of sin,
which only frees us from the penalty of the law, doth yet leave it
necessary that obedience be performed unto it, even all that it doth
require. But this, in my judgment, is an evident mistake, and that
such as doth not " establish the law, but make it void." And this I
shall demonstrate: —
\i (1.) The law hath two parts or powers: — First, Its preceptive part,
commanding and requiring obedience, with a promise of life an-
nexed : " Do this, and live." Secondly, The sanction on supposition of
disobedience, binding the sinner unto punishment, or a meet recom-
pense of reward : " In the day thou sinnest thou shalt die." And
every law, properly so called, proceeds on these suppositions of obe-
dience or disobedience, whence its commanding and punishing power
are inseparate from its nature.
(2.) This law whereof we speak was first given unto man in in-
nocency, and therefore the first power of it was only in act ; it obliged
only unto obedience : for an innocent person could not be obnoxious
unto its sanction, which contained only an obligation unto punish-
ment, on supposition of disobedience. It could not, therefore, oblige
our first parents unto obedience and punishment both, seeing its
obligation unto punishment could not be in actual force but on
supposition of actual disobedience. A moral cause of, and motive
unto, obedience it was, and had an influence into the preservation of
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST's OBEDIENCE. 265
man from sin. Unto that end it was said unto him, " In the day
thou eatest, thou shalt surely die." The neglect hereof, and of that
ruling influence which it ought to have had on the minds of our first
parents, opened the door unto the entrance of sin. But it implies a
contradiction, that an innocent person should be under an actual
obligation unto punishment from the sanction of the law. It bound
only unto obedience, as all laws, with penalties, do before their trans-
gression. But, —
(3.) On the committing of sin (and it is so with every one that is
guilty of sin), man came under an actual obligation unto punish-
ment. This is no more questionable than whether at first he was
under an obligation unto obedience. But then the question is,
whether the first intention and obligation of the law unto obedience
doth cease to affect the sinner, or continue so as at the same time to
oblige him unto obedience and punishment, both its powers being in
act towards him? And hereunto I say, —
[1.] Had the punishment threatened been immediately inflicted
unto the utmost of what was contained in it, this could have been
no question; for man had died immediately, both temporally and
eternally, and been cast out of that state wherein alone he could
stand in any relation unto the preceptive power of the law. He that
is finally executed hath fulfilled the law so as that he owes no more
obedience unto it.
But, [2.] God, in his wisdom and patience, hath otherwise dis-
posed of things. Man is continued a " viator" stiU, in the way unto
his end, and not fully stated in his eternal and unchangeable con-
dition, wherein neither promise nor threatening, reward nor punish-
ment, could be proposed unto him. In this condition he falls under
a twofold consideration : — First, Of a guilty person, and so is obliged
unto the full punishment that the law threatens. This is not denied.
Second, Of a man, a rational creature of God, not yet brought unto
his eternal end.
[3.] In this state, the law is the only instrument and means of the
continuance of the relation between God and him. Wherefore, under
this consideration, it cannot but still oblige him unto obedience, un-
less we shall say that by his sin he hath exempted himself from the
government of God. Wherefore, it is by the law that the rule and
government of God over men is continued whilst they are in " statu
\datorum ;" for every disobedience, every transgression of its rule and
order, as to its commanding power, casteth us afresh and farther,
under its power of obliging unto punishment.
Neither can these things be otherwise. Neither can any man liv-
ing, not the worst of men, choose but judge himself, whilst he is in
this world, obliged to give obedience unto the law of God, according
266 ON JUSTIFICATION.
to the notices that he hath of it by the hght of nature or otherv/ise.
A wicked servant that is punished for his fault, if it be with such a
punishment as yet continues his being and his state of servitude,
is not by his punishment freed from an obligation unto duty, accord-
ing unto the rule of it; yea, his obligation unto duty, with respect
unto that crime for which he was punished, is not dissolved until his
punishment be capital, and so put an end unto his state. Where-
fore, seeing that by the pardon of sin we are freed only from the
obligation unto punishment, there is, moreover, required unto our
justification an obedience unto what the law requireth.
And this greatly strengtheneth the argument in whose vindication
we are engaged ; for we being sinners, we were obnoxious both unto
the command and curse of the law. Both must be answered, or we
cannot be justified. And as the Lord Christ could not by his most
perfect obedience satisfy the curse of the law, " Dying thou slialt
die ;" so by the utmost of his suffering he could not fulfil the com-
mand of the law, " Do this, and live." Passion, as passion, is not
obedience, — though there may be obedience in suffering, as there
was in that of Christ unto the height. Wherefore, as we plead that
the death of Christ is imputed unto us for our justification, so we
deny that it is imputed unto us for our righteousness. For by the
imputation of the sufferings of Christ our sins are remitted or par-
doned, and we are delivered from the curse of the law, which he
underwent ; but we are not thence esteemed just or righteous, which
we cannot be without respect unto the fulfilling of the commands of
the law, or the obedience by it required. The whole matter is ex-
cellently expressed by Grotius in the words before alleged : " Cum
duo nobis peperisse Christum dixerimus, impunitatem et preemium,
illud satisfaction!, hoc merito Christi distincte tribuit vetus ecclesia.
Satisfactio consistit in meritorum translatione, meritum in perfectis-
simte obedientia3 pro nobis prsestitiee imputatione."
(4.) The objection mentioned proceeds also on this supposition,
that 'pardon of sin gives title urdo eternal blessedness in the enjoy-
ftient of God ; for justification doth so, and, according to the authors
of tliis opinion, no other righteousness is required thereunto but
pardon of sin. That justification doth give right and title unto
adoption, acceptation with God, and the heavenly inheritance, I sup-
pose will not be denied, and it hath been proved already. Pardon
of sin depends solely on the death or suffering of Christ : " In whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, accord-
ing to the riches of his grace," Eph. i. 7. But suffering for punish-
ment gives right and title unto nothing, only satisfies for something;
nor doth it deserve any reward : it is nowhere said, " Suffer this,
and live," but " Do this, and live."
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST's OBEDIENCE. 2G7
These things, I confess, are inseparably connected in the ordinance,
appointment, and covenant of God. Whosoever hath his sins par-
doned is accepted with God, hath right unto eternal blessedness.
These things are inseparable; but they are not one and the same.
And by reason of their inseparable relation are they so put together
by the apostle, Rom. iv. 6-8, " Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works : Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and
whose sins are covered : blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin." It is the imputation of righteousness that gives right
unto blessedness ; but pardon of sin is inseparable from it, and an
effect of it, both being opposed unto justification by works, or an
internal righteousness of our own. But it is one thing to be freed
from being liable unto eternal death, and another to have right and
title unto a blessed and eternal life. It is one thing to be redeemed
from under the law, — that is, the curse of it ; another, to receive the
adoption of sons ; — one thing to be freed from the curse ; another, to
have the blessing of Abraham come upon us: as the apostle distin-
gxiisheth these things. Gal. iiL 13, 14, iv. 4, 5 ; and so doth our Lord
Jesus Christ, Acts xxvi. 18, " That they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance " (a lot and right to the inheritance) " amongst
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." "Apsc/s a/xapriZv,
which we have by faith in Christ, is only a dismission of sin from
being pleadable unto our condemnation ; on which account " there is
no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus." But a right
and title unto glory, or the heavenly inheritance, it giveth not. Can
it be supposed that all the great and glorious effects of present grace
and future blessedness should follow necessarily on, and be the effect
of, mere pardon of sin? Can we not be pardoned but we must
thereby of necessity be made sons, hefrs of God, and co-heirs with
Christ?
Pardon of sin is in God, with respect unto the sinner, a free, gra-
tuitous act : " Forgiveness of sin through the riches of his gxace." But
with respect unto the satisfaction of Christ, it is an act in judgment.
For on the consideration thereof, as imputed unto him, doth God
absolve and acquit the sinner upon his trial. But pardon on a juri-
dical trial, on what consideration soever it be gi'anted, gives no right
nor title unto any favour, benefit, or privilege, but only mere deliver-
ance. It is one thing to be acquitted before the throne of a king
of crimes laid unto the charge of any man, which may be done by
clemency, or on other considerations ; another to be made his son by
adoption, and heir unto his kingdom.
And these things are represented unto us in the Scripture as dis-
tinct, and depending on distinct causes: so are they in the vision
268 ON JUSTIFICATION.
concerning Joshua the high priest, Zech. iii. 4, 5, " And he an-
swered and spake unto those that stood before him sa3dng, Take
away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee
with change of raiment. And I said. Let them set a fair mitre upon
his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him
with garments." It hath been generally granted that we have here
a representation of the justification of a sinner before God. And
the taking away of filthy garments is expounded by the passing away
of iniquity. When a man's filthy garments are taken away, he is
no more defiled with them ; but he is not thereby clothed. This is
an additional grace and favour thereunto, — namely, to be clothed
with change of garments. And what this raiment is, is declared,
Isa. Ixi. 10, " He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he
hath covered me with the robe of righteousness;" which the apostle
alludes unto, Phil. iii. 9. Wherefore these things are distinct, —
namely, the taking away of the filthy garments, and the clothing of
us with change of raiment ; or, the pardon of sin, and the robe of
righteousness. By the one are we freed from condemnation; by the
other have we right unto salvation. And the same is in like manner
represented, Ezek. xvi. 6-12.
This place I had formerly urged to this purpose about communion
with God, p. 187;^ which Mr Hotchkis, in his usual manner, attempts
to answer. And to omit his reviling expressions, with the crude, un-
proved assertion of his own conceits, his answer is, — that by the
change of raiment mentioned in the prophet, our own personal right-
eousness is intended; for he acknowledgeth that our justification be-
fore God is here represented. And so also he, expounds the place
produced in the confirmation of the exposition given, Isa. Ixi. 10,
where this change of raiment is called, " The garments of salvation,
and the robe of righteousness ; " and thereon affirms that our right-
eousness itself before God is our personal righteousness, p. 203, — that
is, in our justification before him, which is the only thing in ques-
tion. To all which presumptions I shall oppose only the testimony
of the same prophet, which he may consider at his leisure, and which,
at one time or other, he will subscribe unto. Isa. Ixiv. 6, " We
are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags." He who can make garments of salvation and robes of right-
eousness of these filthy rags, hath a skill in composing spiritual vest-
ments that I am not acquainted withal. What remains in the chap-
ter wherein this answer is given unto that testimony of the Scrip-
ture, I shall take no notice of; it being, after his accustomed manner,
only a perverse wresting of my words unto such a sense as may
' See vol. ii. p. 164 in the present edition of Owen's works.
THE IMPUTATION OF CHEIST's OBEDIENCE. 269
seem to countenance liim in casting a reproach upon myself and
others.
There is, therefore, no force in the comparing of these things unto
hfe and death natural, which are immediately opposed : " So that he
who is not dead is alive, and he who is alive is not dead ;" — there be-
ing no distinct state between that of life and death ; for these things
being of different natures, the comparison between them is no way
argumentative. Though it may be so in things natural, it is other-
wise in thing's moral and political, where a proper representation of
justification may be taken, as it is forensic. If it were so, that there
is no difference between being acquitted of a crime at the bar of a
judge, and a right unto a kingdom, nor different state between these
things, it would prove that there is no intermediate estate between
being pardoned and having a right unto the heavenly inheritance.
But this is a fond imagination.
It is true that right unto eternal life doth succeed unto freedom
from the guilt of eternal death : " That they may receive forgiveness
of sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified." But it
doth not do so out of a necessity in the nature of the things themselves,
but only in the free constitution of God. Believers have the par-
don of sin, and an immediate right and title unto the favour of God,
the adoption of sons, and eternal life. But there is another state in
the nature of the things themselves, a,nd this might have been so
actually, had it so seemed good unto God ; for who sees not that there
is a " status," or " conditio personoe," wherein he is neither under the
guilt of condemnation nor hath an immediate right and title unto
gloiy in the way of inheritance? God might have pardoned men all
their sins past, and placed them in a state and condition of seeking
righteousness for the future by the works of the law, that so they
might have lived ; for this would answer the original state of Adam.
But God hath not done so. True; but whereas he might have done
so, it is evident that the disposal of men into this state and condition
of right unto life and salvation, doth not depend on nor proceed from
the pardon of sin, but hath another cause ; which is, the imputation of
the righteousness of Christ unto us, as he fulfilled the law for us.
And, in truth, this is the opinion of the most of our adversaries in
this cause: for they do contend, that over and above the remission
of sin, which some of them say is absolute, without any respect unto
the merit or satisfaction of Christ, others refer it unto them ; they
all contend that there is, moreover, a righteousness of works required
unto our justification; — only they say this is our own incomplete, im-
perfect righteousness imputed unto us as if it were perfect; that is,
for what it is not, and not the righteousness of Christ imputed unto
us for what it is.
270 ON JUSTIFICATION-.
From what liatli been discoursed, it is evident that unto our jus-
tification before God is required, not only that we be freed from the
damnatory sentence of the law, which we are by the pardon of sin,
but, moreover, " that the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in us,"
or, that we have a righteousness answering the obedience that the
law requires; whereon our acceptance with God, through the riches
of his gTace, and our title unto the heavenly inheritance, do depend.
This we have not in and of ourselves, nor can attain unto ; as hath
been proved. Wherefore the perfect obedience and righteousness
of Christ is imputed unto us, or in the sight of God Ave can never be
justified.
Nor are the cavilling objections of the Socinians, and those that
follow them, of any force against the tnith herein. They tell us,
" That the righteousness of Christ can be imputed but unto one, if
unto any ; for who can suppose that the same righteousness of one
should become the righteousness of man 3^, even of all that believe?
Besides, he performed not all the duties that are required of us in all
our relations, he being never placed in them." These things, I say,
are both foolish and impious, destructive unto the whole gospel ; for
all things here depend on the ordination of God. It is his ordinance,
that as "through the offence of one many are dead," so "his grace, and
the gift of grace, through one man, Christ Jesus, hath abounded unto
many;" and " as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men
unto condemnation, so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all unto the righteousness of life;" and "by the obedience of one
many are made righteous;" as the apostle argues, Eom. v. For " God
sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, that the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," chap. viii. 3, 4 ; for
he was " the end of the law" (the whole end of it), " for righteous-
ness unto them that do believe," chap. x. 4. This is the appointment
of the wisdom, righteousness, and grace of God, that the whole right-
eousness and obedience of Christ should be accepted as our complete
righteousness before him, imputed unto us by his grace, and applied
unto us or made ours through believing ; and, consequently, unto all
that believe. And if the actual sin of Adam be imputed unto us
all, who derive our nature from him, unto condemnation, though he
sinned not in our circumstances and relations, is it strange that the
actual obedience of Christ should be imputed unto them who derive
a spiritual nature from him, unto the justification of life? Besides,
both the satisfaction and obedience of Christ, as relating unto his
person, were, in some sense, infinite, — that is, of an infinite value, —
and so cannot be considered in parts, as tliough one part of it were
imputed unto one, and anotlier unto another, but the whole is im-
puted unto every one that doth believe; and if the Israelites could
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE, 271
say that David was " worth ten thousand of them," 2 Sam. xviii. 3,
we may well allow the Lord Christ, and so what he did and suffered,
to be more than us all, and all that we can do and suffer.
There are also sundry other mistakes that concur unto that part of
the charge against the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto
us, which w^e have now considered. I say of his righteousness; for
the apostle in this case useth those two words, dixalu/xa and vtutio^,
" righteousness" and " obedience," as teohuvaiMovvra, — of the same sig-
nification, Rom. V. 18, 19. Such are these : — that remission of sin and
justification are the same, or that justification consisteth only in the
remission of sin; — that faith itself, as our act and duty, seeing it is the
condition of the covenant, is imputed unto us for righteousness ; — or
that we have a personal, inherent righteousness of our own, that one
way or other is our righteousness before God unto justification ; either
a condition it is, or a disposition unto it, or hath a congruity in de-
serving the grace of justification, or a downright merit of condignity
thereof: for all these are but various expressions of the same thing,
according unto the variety of the conceptions of the minds of men
about it. But they have been all considered and removed in our
precedent discourses.
To close this argument, and our vindication of it, and therewithal
to obviate an objection, I do acknowledge that our blessedness and
life eternal is, in the Scripture, ofttimes ascribed unto the death of
Christ. But, — 1. It is so xar s^o-xj^v, — as the 'principal cause of the
whole, and as that without which no imputation of obedience could
have justified us; for the penalty of the law was indispensably to be
undergone. 2. It is so xara evyyiveictv, — not exclusively unto all obe-
dience, whereof mention is made in other places, but as that where-
unto it is inseparably conjoined. " Christus in vita passivam habuit
actionem; in morte passionem activam sustinuit; dum salutem ope-
raretur in medio terroe," Bernard. And so it is also ascribed unto
his resuri'ection xar hhit,iv, with respect unto evidence and manifes-
tation; but the death of Christ exclusively, as unto his obedience,
is nowhere asserted as the cause of eternal life, comprising that ex-
ceeding weight of glory wherewith it is accompanied.
Hitherto we have treated of and vindicated the imputation of the
active obedience of Christ unto us, as the truth of it was deduced
from the preceding argument about the obligation of the law of crea-
tion. I shall now briefly confirm it with other reasons and testi-
monies : —
1. That which Christ, the mediator and surety of the covenant, did
do in obedience unto God, in the discharge and performance of his
office, that he did for us; and that is imputed unto us. This hath
been proved already, and it hath too great an evidence of truth to be
272 ON JUSTIFICATION.
denied. He was " born to us, given to us," Isa. ix. 6 ; for " what tlie
law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God send-
ing his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us," Kom. viii. 3, 4. Whatever is spoken of the grace, love, and
purpose of God in sending or giving his Son, or of the love, grace,
and condescension of the Son in coming and undertaking of the work
of redemption designed unto him, or of the oflice itself of a mediator
or surety, gives testimony unto this assertion ; yea, it is the funda-^
mental principle of the gospel, and of the faith of all that tiidy be-
lieve. As for those by whom the divine person and satisfaction of
Christ are denied, whereby they evert the whole work of his media-
tion, we do not at present consider them. Wherefore what he so did
is to be inquired into. And, —
(1.) The Lord Christ, our mediator and surety, was, in his human
nature, made bm v6fj.ov, — " under the law," Gal. iv. 4. That he was
not so for himself, by the necessity of his condition, we have proved
before. It was, therefore, for us. But as made under the law, he
yielded obedience unto it; this, therefore, was for us, and is im-
puted unto us. The exception of the Socinians, that it is the judicial
law only that is intended, is too frivolous to be insisted on; for he
was made under that law whose curse we are delivered from. And
if we are delivered only from the curse of the law of Moses, wherein
they contend that there was neither promises nor threatening of
eternal things, of any thing beyond this present life, we are still in
our sins, under the curse of the moral law, notwithstanding all that
he hath done for us. It is excepted, with more colour of sobriety,
that he was made under the law only as to the curse of it. But it is
plain in the text that Christ was made under the law as we are
under it. He was " made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law." And if he was not made so as we are, there is no
consequence from his being made under it unto our redemption
from it. But we were so under the law, as not only to be obnoxious
unto the curse, but so as to be obliged unto all the obedience that it
required; as hath been proved. And if the Lord Christ hath re-
deemed us only from the curse of it by undergoing it, leaving us in
ourselves to answer its obligation unto obedience, we are not freed
nor delivered. And the expression of " under the law" doth in the
first place, and properly, signify being under the obligation of it unto
obedience, and consequentially only with a respect unto the curse.
Gal. iv, 21, " Tell me, ye that desire to be uto vo/mov," — "under the law."
They did not desire to be under the curse of the law, but only its
obligation unto obedience ; which, in all usage of speech, is the first
proper sense of that expression. Wherefore, the Lord Christ being
THE IMPUTATION OF CHRIST'S OBEDIENCE. 273
made under the law for us, he yielded perfect obedience unto it for
us ; which is therefore imputed unto us. For that what he did was
done for us, depends solely on imputation.
(2.) As he was thus made under the law, so he did actually fulfil
it by his obedience unto it. So he testifieth concerning himself, —
" Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I
am not come to destroy, but to fulfil," Matt. v. 17. These words of
our Lord Jesus Cbrist, as recorded by the evangelist, the Jews con-
tinually object against the Christians, as contradictory to what they
pretend to be done by him, — namely, that he hath destroyed and
taken away the law. And Maimonides, in his treatise, " De Funda-
mentis Legis," hath many blasphemous reflections on the Lord Ciirist,
as a false prophet in this matter. But the reconciliation is plain and
easy. There was a twofold law given unto the church, — the moral
and the ceremonial law. The first, as we have proved, is of an eter-
nal obligation ; the other was given only for a time. That the lat-
ter of these was to be taken away and abolished, the apostle proves
with invincible testimonies out of the Old Testament against the
obstinate Jews, in his Epistle unto the Hebrews. Yet was it not to
be taken away without its accomplishment, when it ceased of itself.
Wherefore, our Lord Christ did no otherwise dissolve or destroy that
law, but by the accomplishment of it /and so he did put an end unto
it, as is fully declared, Eph. ii. 14-16. But the law xar' s^o^yjv, that
which obligeth all men unto obedience unto God always, he came not
xaraXvaai, to destroy, — that is adirrisai, to abolish it, as an dferrigig is
ascribed unto the Mosaical law, Heb. ix. 26 (in the same sense is the
word used, Matt. xxiv. 2, xxvi. 61, xxvii. 40; Mark xiii. 2, xiv. 58,
XV. 29; Luke xxi. 6; Acts v. 38, 39, vi. 14; Rom. xiv. 20; 2 Cor.
V. 1 ; Gal. ii. 1 8, mostly with an accusative case, of the things spoken
of), or xa-apyT^gai, which the apostle denies to be done by Christ,
and faith in him. Rom. iii. 31, 'No/j.ov ouv -/.aTaf"/ov/j,sv dia Trig m-iffrsug;
Ij^n ysvoiTo' dXXa v6/jjov ;Vrw/i,s/ — " Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." ISSo/mov isrami
is to confirm its obligation unto obedience ; which is done by faith
only, with respect unto the moral law; the other being evacuated as
unto any power of obliging unto obedience. This, therefore, is the
law which our Lord Christ affinns that he came " not to destroy;"
so he exjDressly declares in his ensuing discourse, showing ))oth its
power of obliging us always unto obedience, and giving an exposition
of it. This law the Lord Christ came i-Xi^puffai. HXrjpuffai rhv v6/mov,
in the Scripture, is the same with s/jj-zXT^ffai rhv v6,'mov in other writers;
that is, to yield full, perfect obedience unto the commands of the law,
whereby they are absolutely fulfilled. UX^pojaai v6/j.ou is not to make
the law perfect; for it was always vo/xog rsXsiog, — a " perfect law/*
VOL. V. 18
274 ON JUSTIFICATION.
James i. 25; but to yield perfect obedience unto it: the same that
our Saviour calls -rX^ipwca; 'xacrav dixatosljvriv, Matt. iii. 15, " to fulfil all
righteousness;" that is, by obedience unto all God's commands and
institutions, as is evident in the place. So the apostle useth the
same expression, Kom. xiii. 8, " He that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law."
2. It is a vain exception, that Christ fulfilled the law by his doctrine,
in the exposition of it. The opposition between the words 'ttXtipcosui
and TcaraXica/, — "to fulfid" and " to destroy," — will admit of no such
sense ; and our Saviour himself expounds this " fulfilling of the law,"
by doing the commands of it. Matt. v. 19. Wherefore, the Lord Christ
as our mediator and surety fulfilling the law, by yielding perfect obe-
dience thereunto, he did it for us; and to us it is imputed.
This is plainly affirmed by the apostle, E.om. v. 18, 19, " There-
fore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to con-
demnation ; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobe-
dience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous." The full plea from, and vindication of,
this testimony, I refer unto its proper place in the testimonies given
unto the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto our justifica-
tion in general. Here I shall only observe, that the apostle expressly
and in terms affirms that " by the obedience of Christ we are made
righteous," or justified; which we cannot be but by the imputation of
it unto us. I have met with nothing that had the appearance of any
sobriety for the eluding of this express testimony, but only that by
the obedience of Christ his death and sufferings are intended, where-
in he was obedient unto God; as the apostle saith, he was " obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross," Phil. ii. 8. But yet there is
herein no colour of probability. For, — (1.) It is acknowledged that
there was such a near conjunction and alliance between the obedience
of Christ and his sufferings, that though they may be distinguished,
yet can they not be separated. He suffered in the whole course of
his obedience, from the womb to the cross; and he obeyed in all his
sufferings unto the last moment wherein he expired. But yet are they
really things distinct, as we have proved ; and they were so in him
who " learned obedience by the things that he suffered," Heb. v. 8.
(2.) In this place, [Rom. v.] u'xaxorj, verse 19, and 6/xa/w/xa, verse 18, are
the same, — obedience and righteousness. " By the righteousness of
one," and " by the obedience of one," are the same. But suffering,
as suffering, is not 5/xa/w/xa, is not righteousness; for if it were, then
every one that suffers what is due to him should be righteous, and
so be justified, even the devil himself. (3.) The righteousness and
obedience here intended are opposed r<p '7rafavru/j,ari, — to the of-
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO COVENANTS. 275
fence : " By the offence of one." But the offence intended was an
actual transgression of the law; so is <rapa-Trw/xa, a fall from, or a
fall in, the course of obedience. Wherefore the S/%a/w/xa, or righte-
ousness, must be an actual obedience unto tlie commands of the law,
or the force of the apostle's reasoning and antithesis cannot be under-
stood. (4.) Particularly, it is such an obedience as is opposed unto
the disobedience of Adam, — " one man's disobedience," " one man's
obedience ; " — but the disobedience of Adam was an actual transgres-
sion of the law : and therefore the obedience of Christ here intended
was his active obedience unto the law; — which is that we plead for.
And I shall not at present fartlier pursue the argument, because the
force of it, in the confirmation of the truth contended for, will be in-
cluded in those that follow.
CHAPTER XIII.
The nature of justification proved from the clitFerence of the covenants.
That which we plead in the third place unto our purpose is, the
difference heUueen the two covenants. And herein it may be ob-
served,—
1. That by the two covenants I understand those which were
absolutely given unto the whole church, and were all to bring it ug
TiXiiorriTa, — unto a complete and perfect state; that is, the covenant of
works, or the law of our creation as it was given unto us, with pro-
mises and threatenings, or rewards and punishments, annexed unto
it; and the covenant of grace, revealed and proposed in the first pro-
mise. As unto the covenant of Sinai, and the new testament as
actually confirmed in the death of Christ, with all the spiritual privi-
leges thence emerging, and the differences between them, they belong
not unto our present argument.
2. The whole entire nature of the covenant of works consisted in
this, — that upon our personal obedience, according unto the laiu
and rule of it, we should he accepted with God, and rewarded with
him. Herein the essence of it did consist; and whatever covenant
proceedeth on these terms, or hath the nature of them in it, however
it may be varied with additions or alterations, is the same covenant
still, and not another. As in the renovation of the promise wherein
the essence of the covenant of grace was contained, God did ofttimes
make other additions unto it (as unto Abraham and David), yet was
it still the same covenant for the substance of it, and not another; so
276 ON JUSTIFICATION.
whatever variations may be made in, or additions unto, the dispen-
sation of the first covenant, so long as this rule is retained, " Do this,
and five," it is still the same covenant for the substance and essence
of it
8. Hence two things Iselonged unto this covenant : — Fhst, That all
things luere transacted immediately between God and man. There
was no mediator in it, no one to undertake any thing, either on the
part of God or man, between them ; for the whole depending on every
one's personal obedience, there was no place for a mediator. Secondly,
That nothing but perfect, sinless obedience would be accepted luith
God, or preserve the covenant in its primitive state and condition.
There was nothing in it as to pardon of sin, no provision for any de-
fect in personal obedience.
4. Wherefore, this covenant being once established between God
and man, there could be no new covenant made, unless the essential
form of it were of another nature, — namely, that our own personal
obedience be not the rule and cause of our acceptation and justifica-
tion before God; for whilst this is so, as was before observed, the
covenant is still the same, however the dispensation of it may be re-
formed or reduced to suit unto our present state and condition. What
grace soever might be introduced into it, that could not be so M'hich
excluded all works from being the cause of our justification. But if a
new covenant be made, such grace must be provided as is absolutely
inconsistent with any works of ours, as unto the first ends of the
covenant ; as the apostle declares, E-om. xi. 6.
5. Wherefore, the covenant of grace, supposing it a new, real, abso-
lute covenant, and not a reformation of the dispensation of the old,
or a reduction of it unto the use of our present condition (as some
imagine it to be), must differ, in the essence, substance, and nature of
it, from that first covenant of works. And this it cannot do if we are
to be justified before God on our personal obedience; wherein the
essence of the first covenant consisted. If, then, the righteousness
wherewith we are justified before God be our own, our own personal
righteousness, we are yet under the first covenant, and no other.
6. But things in the new covenant are indeed quite otherwise;
for, — First, It is oi grace, which wholly excludes works; that is, so of
grace, as that our own works are not the means of justification before
God; as in the places before alleged. Secondly, It hath a mediator
and surety ; which is built alone on this supjoosition, that what we
cannot do in ourselves which was originally required of us, and what
the law of the first covenant cannot enable us to perform, that should
be performed for us by our mediator and surety. And if this be not
included in the very first notion of a mediator and surety, yet it is in
that of a mediator or surety that doth voluntarily interpose himself,
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO COVENANTS. 277
upon an open acknowledgment that those for whom he undertakes
were utterly insufficient to perform what was required of them ; — on
which supposition all the truth of the Scripture doth depend. It is
one of the very first notions of Christian religion, that the Lord Christ
was given to us, born to us; that he came as a mediator, to do for us
what we could not do for ourselves, and not merely to suffer what we
had deserved. And here, instead of our own righteousness, we have
the "righteousness of God;" instead of being righteous in ourselves
before God, he is " The Lord our Righteousness." And nothing but
a righteousness of another kind and nature, unto justification before
God, could constitute another covenant. Wherefore, the righteous-
ness whereby we are justified is the righteousness of Christ imputed
unto us, or we are still under the law, under the covenant of works.
It will be said that ou7' personal obedience is by none asserted to
be the righteousness wherewith we are justified before God, in the
same manner as it was under the covenant of works ; but the argu-
ment speaks not as unto the manner or way whereby it is so, but to
the thing itself If it be so in any way or manner, under what quali-
fications soever, we are under that covenant still. If it be of works
any way, it is not of grace at all. But it is added, that the differences
are such as are sufficient to constitute covenants effectually distinct:
as, — 1. " The perfect, sinless obedience was required in the first
covenant; but in the new, that which is imperfect, and accompanied
Avith many sins and failings, is accepted." Ans. This is " gratis dic-
tum," and begs the question. No righteousness unto justification
before God is or can be accepted but what is perfect. 2. " Grace is
the original fountain and cause of all our acceptation before God in
the new covenant." Ans. It was so also in the old. The creation
of man in original righteousness was an effect of divine grace, be-
nignity, and goodness; and the reward of eternal life in the enjoy-
ment of God was of mere sovereign grace: yet what was then of
works was not of gTace ; — no more is it at present. 3. " There would
then have been merit of works, which is now excluded." Ans. Such
a merit as ariseth from an equality and proportion between works
and reward, by the rule of commutative justice, would not have been
in the works of the first covenant; and in no other sense is it now
rejected by them that oppose the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ. 4. " All is now resolved into the merit of Christ, upon the
account whereof alone our own personal righteousness is accepted
before God unto our justification." Ans. The question is not, on
what account, nor for what reason, it is so accepted ? but, whether it
be or no ? — seeing its so being is effectually constitutive of a covenant
of works.
278 ON JUSTIFICATION.
CHAPTER XIV.
The exclusion of all sorts of worlcs from an interest in justification — What is in-
tended by " the law," and the " works " of it, in the epistles of Paul.
We shall take our fourth argument from the express exclusion of
all works, of luhat sort soever, from our justification before God.
For this alone is that which we plead, — namely, that no acts or works
of our own are the causes or conditions of our justification; but that
the whole of it is resolved into the free grace of God, through Jesus
Christ, as the mediator and surety of the covenant. To this purpose
the Scripture speaks expressly. Rom. iii. 28, " Therefore we con-
clude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law."
Rom. iv. 5, " But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom.
xi. 6, " If it be of grace, then is it no more of works." Gal. ii. 16,
" 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 justi-
fied." Eph. ii. 8, 9, '■' For by gi'ace are ye saved through faith
not of works, lest any man should boast." Tit. iii. 5, " Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us."
These and the like testimonies are express, and in positive terms
assert all that we contend for. And I am persuaded that no un-
prejudiced person, whose mind is not prepossessed with notions and
distinctions whereof not the least tittle is offered unto them from the
texts mentioned, nor elsewhere, can but judge that the law, in every
sense of it, and all sorts of works whatever, that at any time, or by
any means, sinners or believers do or can perform, are, not in this or
that sense, but every way and in all senses, excluded from our justi-
fication before God. And if it be so, it is the righteousness of Christ
alone that we must betake ourselves unto, or this matter must cease
for ever. And this inference the apostle himself makes from one of
the testimonies before mentioned, — namely, that of Gal. ii. 19-21 ; for
he adds upon it, " I through the law am dead to the law, that I might
live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God ; for if righteous-
ness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Our adversaries are extremely divided amongst themselves, and
"WORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION. 279
can come unto no consistency, as to tlie sense and meaning of the
apostle in these assertions; for what is proper and obvious unto the
understanding of all men, especially from the opposition that is made
between the law and works on the one hand, and faith, grace, and
Christ on the other (which are opposed as inconsistent in this matter
of our justification), they will not allow ; nor can do so without the
ruin of the opinions they plead for. Wherefore, their various con-
jectures shall be examined, as well to show their inconsistency among
themselves by whom the truth is opposed, as to confirm our present
argument : —
1. Some say it is the ceremonial law alone, and the works of it,
that are intended; or the law as given unto Moses on mount Sinai,
containing that entire covenant that was afterward to be abolished.
This was of old the common opinion of the schoolmen, though it be
now generally exploded. And the opinion lately contended for, that
the apostle Paul excludes justification from the works of the law, or
excludes works absolutely perfect, and sinless obedience, not because
no man can yield that perfect obedience which the law requires, but
because the law itself which he intends coidd not justify any by
the observation of it, is nothing but the renovation of this obsolete no-
tion, that it is the ceremonial law only, or, which upon the matter
is all one, the law given on mount Sinai, abstracted from the grace
of the promise, which could not justify any in the observation of its
rites and commands. But of all other conjectures, this is the most
impertinent and contradictory unto the design of the apostle ; and is
therefore rejected by Bellarmine himself For the apostle treats of
that law whose doers shall be justified, Rom. ii. 13; and the authors
of this opinion would have it to be a law that can justify none of
them that do it. That law he intends whereby is the knowledge of
sm ; for he gives this reason Avhy we cannot be justified by the works
of it, — namely, because "by it is the knowledge of sin," chap. iii. 20:
and by what law is the knowledge of sin he expressly declares,
where he affirms that he " had not known lust, except the law had
said. Thou shalt not covet," chap. vii. 7 ; which is the moral law alone.
That law he designs which stops the mouth of all sinners, and makes
all the world obnoxious unto the judgment of God, chap. iii. 19;
which none can do but the law written in the heart of men at their
creation, chap. ii. 14, 15; — that law, which " if a man do the works
of it, he shall live in them," Gal. iii. 12, Rom. x. 5; and which brings
all men under the curse for sin. Gal. iii 10; — the law that is estab-
lished by faith, and not made void, Rom. iii. 31 ; which the ceremonial
law is not, nor the covenant of Sinai ; — the law whose righteousness
is " to be fulfilled in us," Rom. viii. 4. And the instance which the
apostle gives of justification without the works of that law which he
280 ON JUSTIFICATION,
intends, — namely, that of Abraham, — was some hundreds of years
before the giving of the ceremonial law. Neither yet do I say that the
ceremonial law and the works of it are excluded from the intention
of the apostle : for when that law was given, the observation of it was
an especial instance of that obedience we owed unto the first table of
the decalogue; and the exclusion of the works thereof from our justi-
fication, inasmuch as the performance of them was part of that moral
obedience which we owed unto God, is exclusive of all other works
also. But that it is alone here intended, or that law which could
never justify any by its observation, although it was observed in due
manner, is a fond imagination, and contradictory to the express asser-
tion of the apostle. And, whatever is pretended to the contrary, this
opinion is expressly rejected by Augustine, Lib. de Spiritu et Litera,
cap. viii.: "Ne quisquam putaret hie apostolum ea legedixisse neminem
justificari, quae in sacramentis veteribus multa continet figurata prae-
cepta, undo etiam est ista circumcisio camis, continue subjunxit, quam
dixerit legem et ait ; ' per legem cognitio peccati."' And to the same
purpose he speaks again, Epist. cc, " Non solum ilia opera legis
quae sunt in veteribus sacramentis, et nunc revelato testamento novo
non observantur a Christianis, sicut est circumcisio prseputii, et sabbati
carnalis vacatio ; et a quibusdam escis abstinentia, et pecorum in sacri-
ficiis immolatio, et neomenia et azymum, et caetera hujusmodi, verum
etiam illud quod in lege dictum est, ' Non concupisces,' quod utique
et Christianis nuUus ambigit esse dicendum, non justificat hominem,
nisi per fidem Jesu Christi, et gratiam Dei per Jesum Christum
Dominum nostrum.''
2. Some say the apostle only excludes the perfect ivorks required
by the law of innocency ; which is a sense diametrically opposite unto
that foregoing. But this best pleaseth the Socinians. " Paulus agit
de operibus et perfectis in hoc dicto, ideo enim adjecit, sine operibus
legis, ut indicaretur loqui eum de operibus a lege requisitis, et sic de
perpetua et perfectiss: ma divinorum praBceptorum obedientia sicut
lex requirit. Cum autem talem obedientiam qualem lex requirit
nemo prsestare possit, ideo subjecit apostolus nos justificari fide, id
est, fiducia et obedientia ea quantum quisque prsestare potest, et
quotidie quam maximum prsestare studet, et connititur. Sine operi-
bus legis, id est, etsi interim perfecte totam legem sicut debebat
complere nequit;" saith Socinus himself. But, — (1.) We have herein
the whole granted of what we plead for, — namely, that it is the
moral, indispensable law of God that is intended by the apostle ; and
that by the works of it no man can be justified, yea, that all the
works of it are excluded from our justification: for it is, saith the
apostle, " without works." The works of this law being performed
according unto it, will justify them that perform them, as he affirms,
WORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION. 281
chap. ii. 13; and the Scripture elsewhere witnesseth that "he that
doeth them shall live in them.'' But because this can never be done
by any sinner, therefore all consideration of them is excluded from
our justification. (2.) It is a wild imagination that the dispute of
the apostle is to this purpose, — that the perfect works of the law will
not justify us, but imperfect works, which answer not the law, will
do so, (3.) Granting the law intended to be the moral law of God,
the law of our creation, there is no such distinction intimated in the
least by the apostle, that we are not justified by the perfect works of
it which we cannot perform, but by some imperfect works that we
can perform, and labour so to do. Nothing is more foreign unto the
design and express words of his whole discourse. (4.) The evasion
which they betake themselves iinto, that the apostle opposeth justi-
fication by faith unto that of works, which he excludes, is altogether
vain in this sense; for they would have this faith to be our obedi-
ence unto the divine commands, in that iiiiperfect manner which we
can attain unto. For when the apostle hath excluded all such justi-
fication by the law and the works thereof, he doth not advance in
opposition unto them, and in their room, our oAvn faith and obedience ;
but adds, " Being justified freely by his gi'ace through the redemption
that is in Jesus Christ ; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood."
3. Some of late among ourselves, — and they want not them who
have gone before them, — affirm that the works which the apostle ex-
cludes from justification are only the outiuarcl worhs of the law, per-
formed tuithout an imvard 'principle of faith, fear, or the love of
God. Servile works, attended unto from a respect unto the threaten-
ing of the law, are those which will not justify us. But this opinion
is not only false, but impious. For, — (1.) The apostle excludes the
works of Abraham, which were not such outward, servile works as
are imagined. (2.) The works excluded are those which the law re-
quires; and the law is holy, just, and good. But a law that requires
only outward works, without internal love to God, is neither holy,
just, nor good. (3.) The law condemns all such works as are sepa-
rated from the internal principle of faith, fear, and love ; for it requires
that in all our obedience we should love the Lord our God with all
our hearts. And the apostle saith, that we are not justified by the
Avorks which the latu condemns, but not by them which the law com-
mands. (4.) It is highly reflexive on the honour of God, that he
unto whose divine prerogative it belongs to know the hearts of men
alone, and therefore regards them alone in all the duties of their
obedience, should give a law requiiing outward, servile works only;
for if the law intended require more, then are not those the only
works excluded.
282 ON JUSTIFICATION.
4. Some say, in general, it is the Jewish law that is intended; and
think thereby to cast ofif the whole difficult3^ But if, by the Jewish
law, they intend only the ceremonial law, or the law absolutely as
given by Moses, we have already showed the vanity of that pretence ;
but if they mean thereby the whole law or rule of obedience given
unto the church of Israel under the Old Testament, they express
much of the truth, — it may be more than they designed.
5. Some say that it is works with a conceit of merit, that makes
the reward to be of debt, and not of grace, that are excluded by the
apostle. But no such distinction appeareth in the text or context;
for, — (1.) The apostle excludeth all luorks of the law, — that is, that
the law requireth of us in a way of obedience, — be they of what sort
they will. (2.) The law requireth no ivorks with a conceit of merit.
(3.) Works of the law originally included no merit, as that which
ariseth from the proportion of one thing unto another in the balance
of justice ; and in that sense only is it rejected by those who plead
for an interest of works in justification. (4.) The merit which the
apostle excludes is that which is inseparable from works, so that it
cannot be excluded unless the works themselves be so. And unto
their merit two things concur: — First, A comparative boasting; that
is, not absolutely in the sight of God, which follows the " meritum
ex condigno" which some poor sinful mortals have fancied in their
works, but that which gives one man a preference above another in
the obtaining of justification ; Avhich grace will not allow, chap. iv. 2.
Secondly, That the reward be not absolutely of grace, but that re-
spect be had therein unto works ; which makes it so far to be of debt,
not out of an internal condignity, which would not have been under
the law of creation, but out of some congruity with respect unto the
promise of God, verse 4. In these two regards merit is inseparable
from works ; and the Holy Ghost, utterly to exclude it, excludeth all
works from which it is inseparable, as it is from all. Wherefore, (5.)
The apostle speaks not one word about the exclusion of the merit of
works only ; but he excludeth all works whatever, and that by this
argument, that the admission of them would necessarily introduce
merit in the sense described; which is inconsistent with grace. And
although some think that they are injuriously dealt withal, when
they are charged with maintaining of merit in their asserting the
influence of our works into our justification; yet those of them who
best understand themselves and the controversy itself, are not so
averse from some kind of merit, as knomng that it is inseparable
from works.
6. Some contend that the apostle excludes only works wrought
before believing, in the strength of our own wills and natural abilities,
without the aid of grace. Works, they suppose, required by the law
WORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION. 283
are such as we perform by tlie direction and command of the law
alone. But the law of faith requireth works in the strength of the
supplies of grace ; which are not excluded. This is tliat which the
most learned and judicious of the church of Rome do now generally
betake themselves unto. Those who amongst us plead for works in
our justification, as they use many distinctions to explain their minds,
and free their opinion from a coincidence with that of the Papists;
so, as yet, they deny the name of merit, and the thing itself m the
sense of the church of Kome, as it is renounced likewise by all the
Socinians : wherefore, they make use of the preceding evasion, that
merit is excluded by the apostle, and works only as they are merito-
rious; although the apostle's plain argTiment be, that they are ex-
cluded because such a merit as is inconsistent with grace is insepa-
rable from their admission.
But the Roman church cannot so part with merit. Wherefore,
they are to find out a sort of works to be excluded only, which they
are content to part withal as not meritorious. Such are those before
described, wrought, as they say, before believing, and without the
aids of grace; and such, they say, are all the works of the laAV. And
this they do with some more modesty and sobriety than those amongst
us who would have only external works and observances to be in-
tended. For they grant that sundry internal works, as those of at-
trition, sorrow for sin, and the like, are of this nature. But the works
of the law it is, they say, that are excluded. But this whole plea,
and all the sophisms wherewith it is countenanced, have been so dis-
cussed and defeated by Protestant writers of all sorts against Bellar-
mine and others, as that it is needless to repeat the same things, or
to add any thing unto them. And it will be sufiiciently evinced of
falsehood in what we shall immediately prove concerning the law
and works intended by the apostle. However, the heads of the de-
. monstration of the truth to the contrary may be touched on. And,
— (1.) The apostle excludeth all works, without distinction or excep-
tion. And we are not to distinguish where the law doth not distin-
guish before us. (2.) All the woi'lcs of the law are excluded: there-
fore all works wrought after believing by the aids of grace are ex-
cluded ; for they are all required by the law. See Ps. cxix. 35 ; Rom.
vii. 22. Works not required by the law are no less an abomination
to God than sins against the law. (3.) The works of believers after
conversion, performed by the aids of grace, are expressly excluded
by the apostle. So are those of Abraham, after he had been a be-
liever many years, and abounded in them unto the praise of God.
So he excludeth his own works after his conversion. Gal. ii. 1 6; 1 Cor.
iv. 4 ; Phil. iii. 9 ; and so he excludeth the works of all other believers,
Eph. ii. 9, 10. (4.) All works are excluded that might give counte-
284 ON JUSTIFICATION.
nance unto boasting, Rom. iv. 2, iii. 27; Eph. ii. 9; 1 Cor. i. 29-31.
But this is done more by the good works of regenerate persons than
by any works of unbelievers. (5.) The law required faith and love in
all our works ; and therefore if all the works of the law be excluded,
the best works of believers are so. (6.) All works are excluded which
are opposed unto grace working freely in our justification; but this
all works whatever are, Rom. xi. 6. (7.) In the Epistle unto the Gala-
tians, the apostle doth exclude from our justification all those works
which the false teachers pressed as necessary thereunto: but they
urged the necessity of the works of believers, and those which were
by grace already converted unto God; for those upon whom they
pressed them unto this end were already actually so. (8.) They are
good works that the apostle excludeth from our justification; for
there can be no pretence of justification by those works that are not
good, or which have not all things essentially requisite to make them
so : but such are all the works of unbelievers performed without the
aids of grace, — they are not good, nor as such accepted with God, but
want what is essentially requisite unto the constitution of good works;
and it is ridiculous to think that the apostle disputes about the ex-
clusion of such works from our justification as no man in his wits
would think to have any place therein. (9.) The reason why no man
can be justified by the law, is because no man can yield perfect obe-
dience thereunto ; for by perfect obedience the law will justify, Rom.
ii. 13, X. 5. Wherefore, all works are excluded that are not absolutely
perfect; but this the best works of believers are not, as we have
proved before. (10.) If there be a reserve for the works of believers,
performed by the aid of grace, in our justification, it is, that either
they may be concauses thereof, or be indispensably subservient unto
those things that are so. That they are concauses of our justification
is not absolutely affirmed ; neither can it be said that they are neces-
sarily subservient unto them that are so. They are not so unto the
efficient cause thereof, which is the grace and favour of God alone,
Rom. iii. 24, 25, iv. 16; Eph. ii. 8, 9; Rev. i. 5; — nor are they so
unto the meritorious cause of it, which is Christ alone, Acts xiii. 38,
xxvi, 18; 1 Cor. i. 30; 2 Cor. v. 18-21 ; — nor unto the material cause
of it, which is the righteousness of Christ alone, Rom. x. 3, 4 ; — nor
are they so unto faith, in what place soever it be stated ; for not only
is faith only mentioned, wherever we are taught the way how the
righteousness of Christ is derived and communicated unto us, without
any intimation of the conjunction of works with it, but also, as unto
our justification, they are placed in opposition and contradiction one
to the other, Rom. iii. 28. And sundry other things are pleadable
unto the same purpose.
7. Some affirm that the apostle excludes all works from our
WORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION. 285
first justification, but not from the second; or, as some speak, tlie
continuation of our justification. Bat we have before examined these
distinctions, and found them groundless.
Evident it is, therefore, that men put themselves into an uncertain,
slippery station, where they know not what to fix upon, nor wherein
to find any such appearance of truth as to give them countenance in
denying the plain and frequently -repeated assertion of the apostle.
Wherefore, in the confirmation of the present argument, I shall
more particularly inquire into what it is that the apostle intends by
the law and works whereof he treats. For as unto our justification,
whatever they are, they are absolutely and universally opposed unto
jrrace, faith, the righteousness of God, and the blood of Christ, as
those which are altogether inconsistent with them. Neither can this
be denied or questioned by any, seeing it is the plain design of the
apostle to evince that inconsistency.
1. Wherefore, in general, it is evident that the apostle, by the law
and the works thereof, intended ivhat the Jeius tvith whom he had to
do did understand by the law, and their oiun whole obedience there-
unto. I suppose this cannot be denied; for without a concession of
it there is nothing proved against them, nor are they in any thing
instructed by him. Suppose those terms equivocal, and to be taken
in one sense by him, and by them in another, and nothing can be
rightly concluded from what is spoken of them. Wherefore, the
meaning of these terms, " the law," and " works," the apostle takes
for granted as very well known, and agreed on between himself and
those with whom he had to do.
2. The Jews by " the law" intended what the Scriptures of the Old
Testament meant by that expression ; for they are nowhere blamed
for any false notion concerning the law, or that they esteemed any
thing to be so but what was so indeed, and what was so called in the
Scripture. Their present oral law was not yet hatched, though the
Pharisees were brooding of it.
3. " The law" under the Old Testament doth immediately refer unto
the law given at mount Sinai, nor is there any distinct mention of
it before. This is commonly called "the law" absolutely; but most
frequently " the law of God," " the law of the Lord ;" and sometimes
" the law of Moses," because of his especial ministry in the givmg of it :
" Remember ye the law of Moses my seiwant, which I commanded
unto him," Mai. iv. 4. And this the Jews intended by " the law."
■i. Of the law so given at Horeb, there was a distribution into three
parts. (1.) There was D^^^n n-i.C'j; ,_Deut iv. 13, " The ten words;"
so also chap. x. 4 ; — that is, the ten commandments written upon two
tables of stone. This part of the law was first given, was the foun-
dation of the whole, and contained that perfect obedience which was
286 ON JUSTIFICATION.
required of mankind by tlie law of creation ; and was now received
into the church with the highest attestations of its indispensable
obligation unto obedience or punishment. (2.) ^''ipQ, which the LXX.
render by 5/xa/w/iara, — that is, "ju-ra," "rites," or "statutes" but
the Latin from thence, " justificationes," ("justifications,") which hath
given gi'eat occasion of mistake in many, both ancient and modern
divines. We call it "the ceremonial law." The apostle terms this part
of the law distinctly, No'/>t,o; hroXuiv h UyiMasi, Eph. ii. 15, "The law
of commandments contained in ordinances;" that is, consisting in a
multitude of arbitrary commands. (3.) '^''^It'^ 'P, which we commonly
call " the judicial law." This distribution of the law shuts up the Old
Testament, as it is used in places innumerable before; only the
D''"i3"in riTi^y^ — " the ten words," — is expressed by the general word
nnin'_"the law," Mai. iv. 4.
5. These being the parts of the law given unto the church in Sinai,
the whole of it is constantly called '^']W ^ — " the law," — that is, the
instruction (as the word signifies) that God gave unto the church, in
the rule of obedience which he prescribed unto it. This is the con-
stant signification of that word in Scripture, where it is taken abso-
lutely; and thereon doth not signify precisely the law as given at
Horeb, but comprehends with it all the revelations that God made
under the Old Testament, in the explanation and confirmation of
that law, in rules, motives, directions, and enforcements of obedience.
G. Wherefore i^T^, — "the law," — is the whole rule of obedience
which God gave to the church under the Old Testament, Avith all
the efficacy wherewith it was accompanied by the ordinances of God,
including in it all the promises and threatenings that might be
motives unto the obedience that God did requu-e; — this is that which
God and the church called "the law" under the Old Testament, and
which the Jews so called with whom our apostle had to do. That
which we call "the moral law" was the foundation of the whole; and
those parts of it which we call " the judicial and ceremonial law,"
were peculiar instances of the obedience which the church under the
Old Testament was obliged unto, in the especial polity and divine
worship which at that season were necessary unto it. And two
things doth the Scripture testify unto concerning this law : —
(1.) That it was a perfect, complete ride of all that internal spiri-
tual and moral obedience which God required of the church : " The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple," Ps. xix. 7. And it so was of
all the external duties of obedience, formatter and manner, time and
season; that in both the church might walk " acceptal^ly before God,"
Isa. viii. 20. And although the original duties of the moral part, of
the law are often preferred before the particular instances of obedi-
WORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION. 287
ence in duties of outward worship, yet the whole law was always the
whole rule of all the obedience, internal and external, that God
required of the church, and which he accepted in them that did
believe.
(2.) That this law, this rule of obedience, as it was ordained of God
to be the instrument of his rule of the church, and by virtue of the
covenant made with Abraham, unto whose administration it was
adapted, and which its introduction on Sinai did not disannul, was
accompanied with a power and efficacy enabling unto obedience.
The law itself, as merely preceptive and commanding, administered
no power or ability unto those that were under its authority to yield
obedience unto it; no more do the mere commands of the gospel.
Moreover, under the Old Testament it enforced obedience on the
minds and consciences of men by the manner of its first delivery, and
the severity of its sanction, so as to fill them with fear and bondage;
and was, besides, accompanied with such burdensome rules of outward
worship, as made it a heavy yoke unto the people. But as it was
God's doctrine, teaching, instruction in all acceptable obedience unto
himself, and was adapted unto the covenant of Abraham, it was
accompanied with an administration of effectual grace, procuring
and promoting obedience in the church. And the law is not to be
looked on as separated from those aids unto obedience which God
administered under the Old Testament; whose effects are therefore
ascribed unto the law itself See Ps. i., xix., cxix.
This being "the lavv^" in the sense of the apostle, and those with
whom he had to do, our next inquiry is. What was their sense of
"tuorks," or "works of the law?" And I say it is plain that they
intended hereby the universal sincere obedience of the church unto
God, according unto this law. And other works the law of God
acknowledgeth not; yea, it expressly condemns all works that have
any such defect in them as to render them unacceptable unto God.
Hence, notwithstanding all the commands that God had positively
given for the strict obsei'vance of sacrifices, offerings, and the like;
yet, when the people performed them without faith and love, he
expressly affirms that he " commanded them not," — that is, to be
observed in such a manner."^ In these works, therefore, consisted
their personal righteousness, as they walked " in all the command-
ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless," Luke i. 6; wherein they
did " instantly serve God day and night," Acts xxvi. 7. And this
they esteemed to be their own righteousness, their righteousness
according unto the law; as really it Avas, Phil. iii. 6, 9. For although
the Pharisees had greatly corrupted the doctrine of the law, and put
false glosses on sundry precepts of it; yet, that the church in tliose
days did, by " the works of the law," understand either ceremonial du-
288 ON JUSTIFICATION.
ties only, or external works, or works with a conceit of merit, or works
wrought without an internal principle of faith and love to God, or
any thing but their own personal sincere obedience unto the whole
doctrine and rule of the law, there is nothing that should give the
least colour of imagination. For, —
1. All this is perfectly stated in the suffrage which the scribe
gave unto the declaration of the sense and design of the law, with
the nature of tlie obedience which it doth require, and was made at
his request by om- blessed Saviour. Mark xii. 28-33, " And one of
the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and
perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the
first commandment of all?" (or as it is. Matt. xxii. 36, " Which is the
great commandment in the law ?") " And Jesus answered him, The
first of all the commandments is. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God
is one Lord ; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;
this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself And the scribe said
unto him. Well, Master, thou hast said the truth : for there is one
God; and there is none but he: and to love him with all the heart,
and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all
the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all
whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices." And this [is] so expressly
given by Moses as the sum of the law, — namely, faith and love, as
the principle of all our obedience, Deut. vi. 4, 5, that it is marvellous
what should induce any learned, sober person to fix upon any other
sense of it; as that it respected ceremonial or' external worJcs only,
or such as may be wrought without faith or love. This is the law
concerning which the apostle disputes, and this the obedience wherein
the works of it do consist ; and more than this, in the way of obedi-
ence, God never did nor will require of any in this world. Where-
fore, the law and the works thereof which the apostle excludeth
from justification, is that whereby we are obhged to believe in God
as one God, the only God, and love him with all our hearts and souls,
and our neighbours as ourselves; and what works there are, or can
be, in any persons, regenerate or not regenerate, to be performed in
the strength of grace or without it, that are acceptable unto God,
that may not be reduced unto these heads, I know not.
2. The apostle himself declareth that it is the law and the works of
it, in the sense we have expressed, that he excludeth from our justifi-
cation. For the law he speaks of is " the law of righteousness," Rom.
ix. 31, — the law whose righteousness is to be " fulfilled in us," that
we may be accepted with God, and freed from condemnation, chap,
viii. 4 ; — that in obedience whereunto our own personal righteousness
VrORKS EXCLUDED IN JUSTIFICATION, 289
doth consist, whether that we judge so before conversion, Rom. x. 3 ;
or what is so after it, Phil. iii. 9 ; — the laAV which if a man observe,
" he shaU Hve," and be justified before God, Rom. ii. 18; Gal. iii. 12;
Horn. X. 5 ; — that law which is " holy, just, and good," which dis-
covereth and coudemneth all sin whatever, chap. vii. 7, 9.
From what hath been discoursed, these two things are evident in
the confirmation of our present argument: — first. That the law in-
tended by the apostle, when he denies that by the works of the law
any can be justified, is the entire rule and guide of our obedience
unto God, even as unto the whole frame and spiritual constitution of
our souls, with all the acts of obedience or duties that he requireth
of us ; and, secondly. That the works of this law, which he so fre-
quently and plainly excludeth from our justification, and therein op-
poseth to the grace of God and the blood of Christ, are all the duties
of obedience, — internal, supernatural ; external, ritual, — however we
are or may be enabled to perform them, that God requireth of us.
And these things excluded, it is the righteousness of Christ alone, im-
puted unto us, on, the account whereof we are justified before God.
The truth is, so far as I can discern, the real difference that is at
this day amongst us, about the doctrine of our justification before
God, is the same that was between the apostle and the Jeivs, and no
other. But controversies in religion make a great appearance of be-
ing new, when they are only varied and made different by the new
terms and expressions that are introduced into the handling of them.
So hath it fallen out in the controversy about nature and grace; for
as unto the true nature of it, it is the same in these days as it was
between the apostle Paul and the Pharisees; between Austin and
Pelagius afterward. But it hath now passed through so many forms
and dresses of words, as that it can scarce be known to be what it was.
Many at this day will condemn both Pelagius and the doctrine that
he taught, in the words wherein he taught it, and yet embrace and
approve of the things themselves which he intended. The introduc-
tion of every change in philosophical learning gives an appearance of
a change in the controversies which are managed thereby; but take
off the covering of philosophical expressions, distinctions, metaphysi-
cal notions, and futilous terms of art, which some of the ancient
schoolmen and later disputants have cast upon it, and the difference
about gTace and nature is amongst us all the same that it was of old,
and as it is allowed by the Socinians.
Thus the apostle, treating of our justification before God, doth it
in those teims which ai'e both expressive of the thing itself, and were
Avell understood by them with whom he had to do; such as the Holy
Spirit, in their revelation, had consecrated unto their proper use.
Thus, on the one hand, he expressly excludes the law, our otun luorks,
VOL. V. 19
^90 ON JUSTIFICATION.
our own righteousness, from any interest therein; and in opposition
unto, and as inconsistent with them, in tlie matter of justification, he
ascribes it wholly unto the righteousness of God, righteousness im-
puted unto us, the obedience of Christ, Christ made righteousness
unto us, the blood of Christ as a propitiation, faith, receiving Christ,
and the atonement. There is no awakened conscience, guided by the
least beam of spiritual illumination, but in itself plainly understands
these things, and what is intended in them. But through the admis-
sion of exotic learning, with philosophical terms and notions, into the
way of teaching spiritual things in religion, a new face and appear-
ance is put on the whole matter; and a composition made between
those things which the apostle directly oppose th as contrary and in-
consistent. Hence are all our discourses about preparations, dispo-
sitions, conditions, merits " de congruo et condigno,"' with such a
train of distinctions, as that if some bounds be not fixed unto the
inventing and coining of them (which, being a facile work, grows on
us every day), we shall not ere long be able to look through them, so
as to discover the things intended, or rightly to understand one an-
other; for as one said of lies, so it may be said of arbitrary distinc-
tions, they must be continually new thatched over, or it will rain
through. But the best way is to cast off all these coverings, and we
shall then quickly see that the real difference about the justification
of a sinner before God is the same, and no other, as it was in the days
of the apostle Paul between him and the Jews. And all those things
which men are pleased now to plead for, with respect unto a causality
in our justification before God, under the names of preparations, con-
ditions, dispositions, merit, with respect unto a first or second justifi-
cation, are as effectually excluded by the apostle as if he had expressly
named them every one; for in them all there is a management,
according unto our conceptions and the terms of the learning pas-
sant in the present age, of the plea for our own personal righteous-
ness, which the Jews maintained against the apostle. And the true
understanding of what he intends by the law, the works and right-
eousness thereof, would be sufficient to determine this controversy,
but that men are grown very skilful in the art of endless wrangling.
CHAPTER XV.
Faith alone.
The truth which we plead hath two parts: — 1. That the 7'ight-
eousness of God imputed to us, unto the justification of Ufe, is the
FAITH ALONE. 29l
righteousness of Christ, by whose obedience we are made righteous.
2. That it is faith alone which on our part is required to interest us
in that righteousness, or whereby we comply vnth. God's grant and
communication of it, or receive it unto our use and benefit; for al-
though this faith is in itself the radical principle of all obedience, —
and whatever is not so, which cannot, which doth not, on all occa-
sions, evidence, prove, show, or manifest itself by works, is not of the
same kind with it, — yet, as we are justified by it, its act and duty is
such, or of that nature, as that no other grace, duty, or work, can be
associated with it, or be of any consideration. And both these are
evidently confirmed in that description which is given us in the Scrip-
ture of the nature of faith and believing unto the justification of
life.
I know that many expressions used in the declaration of the na-
ture and work of faith herein are metaphorical, at least are generally
esteemed so to be ; — but they are such as the Holy Ghost, in his
infinite wisdom, thought meet to make use of for the instruction and
edification of the church. And I cannot but say, that those who un-
derstand not how effectually the light of knowledge is communicated
unto the minds of them that believe by them, and a sense of the
things intended unto their spiritual experience, seem not to have
taken a due consideration of them. Neither, whatever skill we pre-
tend unto, do we know always what expressions of spiritual things
are metaphorical. Those oftentimes may seem so to be, which are
most proper. However, it is most safe for us to adhere unto the ex-
pressions of the Holy Spirit, and not to embrace such senses of things
as are inconsistent with them, and opposite unto them. Where-
fore,—
1. That faith whereby we are justified is most fi'equently in the
New Testament expressed by receiving. This notion of faith hath
been before spoken unto, in our general inquiry into the use of it
in our justification. It shall not, therefore, be here much again
insisted on. Two things we may observe concerning it : — First, That
it is so expressed with respect unto the Avhole object of faith, or unto
all that doth any way concur unto our justification ; for we are
said to receive Christ himself: " As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God," John i. 12; " As ye have
received Christ Jesus the Lord," Col. ii. 6. In opposition hereunto
unbelief is expressed by not receiving of him, John i. 11, iii. 1 1, xii. 48,
xiv. 17. And it is a receiving of Christ as he is " The Lord our
Righteousness," as of God he is made righteousness unto us. And as
no grace, no duty, can have any co-operation with faith herein, — this
reception of Christ not belonging unto their nature, nor comprised in
their exercise, — so it excludes any other righteousness from our justifi-
292 ON JUSTIFICATION.
cation but tliat of Christ alone ; for we are " justified by faith/' Faith
alone receiveth Christ ; and what it receives is the cause of our justi-
fication, whereon we become the sons of God. So we " receive the
atonement" made by the blood of Christ, Rom. v. 11 ; for " God hath
set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." And
this receiving of the atonement includeth the soul's approbation of
the way of salvation by the blood of Christ, and the appropriation of
the atonement made thereby unto our OAvn souls. For thereby also
we receive the forgiveness of sins : " That they may receive for-
giveness of sins by faith that is in me," Acts xxvi. 18. In
receiving Christ we receive the atonement ; and in the atonement we
receive the forgiveness of sins. But, moreover, the grace of God, and
righteousness itself, as the efficient and material cause of our justifi-
cation, are received also ; even the " abundance of grace and the gift
of righteousness," Rom. v. 17. So that faith, with respect unto all
the causes of justification, is expressed by " receiving ;" for it also
receiveth the promise, the instrumental cause on the part of God
thereof, Acts ii. 41 ; Heb. ix. 15. Secondly, That the nature of faith,
and its acting with respect unto all the causes of justification, consist-
ing in receiving, that which is the object of it must be offered, ten-
dered, and given unto us, as that which is not our own, but is made
our own by that giving and receiving. This is evident in the general
nature of receiving. And herein, as was observed, as no other grace
or duty can concur with it, so the righteousness whereby we are jus-
tified can be none of our own antecedent unto this recejDtion, nor at
any time inherent in us. Hence we argue, that if the work of faith
in our justification be the receiving of what is freely granted, given,
communicated, and imputed unto us, — that is, of Christ, of the atone-
ment, of the gift of righteousness, of the forgiveness of sins, — then
have our other graces, our obedience, duties, works, no influence into
our justification, nor are any causes or conditions thereof; for they
are neither that which doth receive nor that which is received, which
alone concur thereunto.
2. Faith is expressed by looking: " Look unto me, and be ye saved,"
Isa. xlv. 22 ; "A man shall look to his Maker, and his eyes shall
have respect unto the Holy One of Israel," chap. xvii. 7 ; " They
shall look upon me whom they have pierced," Zech. xii. 10. See
Ps. cxxiii. 2. The nature hereof is expressed, John iii. 14, 15, " As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have eternal life." For so was he to be lifted up on the
cross in his death, John viii. 28, chap, xii. 32. The story is recorded
Numb. XXL 8, 9. I suppose none doubt but that the stinging of the
peoj)le by fierj' serpents, and the death that ensued thereon, were
FAITH ALONE. 293
types of the guilt of sin, and the sentence of the fierj^ laAV thereon ;
for these things happened unto them in types, 1 Cor. x. 11, When
any was so stang or bitten, if he betook himself unto any other
remedies, he died and perished. Only they that looked unto the
brazen serpent that was lifted up were healed, and lived ; for this
was the ordinance of God, — this way of healing alone had he ap-
pointed. And their healing was a type of the pardon of sin, with
everlasting life. So by their looking is the nature of faith expressed,
as our Saviour plainly expounds it in this place : " So must the Son
of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him," — that is, as the
Israelites looked unto the serpent in the wilderness, — [" should not
perish."] And although this expression of the great mystery of the
gospel by Christ himself hath been by some derided, or, as they call it,
exposed, yet is it really as instructive of the nature of faith, justifica-
tion, and salvation by Christ, as any passage in the Scripture. Now,
if faith, whereby we are justified, and in that exercise of it wherein we
are so, be a looking unto Christ, under a sense of the guilt of sin and
our lost condition thereby, for all, for our only help and relief, for
deliverance, righteousness, and hfe, then is it therein exclusive of all
other graces and duties whatever ; for by them we neitlier look, nor are
they the things which we look after. But so is the nature and exer-
cise of faith expressed by the Holy Ghost; and they who do believe
understand his mind. For whatever may be pretended of metaphor
in the expression, faith is that act of the soul whereby they who are
hopeless, helpless, and lost in themselves, do, in a way of expectancy
and trust, seek for all help and relief in Christ alone, or there is
not truth in it. And this also sufiiciently evinceth the nature of our
justification by Christ.
3. It is, in like manner, frequently expressed by coming unto
Christ: "Come unto me, all ye that labour," Matt. xi. 28. See
John vi. 35, 37, 45, 65, vii. 37. To come unto Christ for life and
salvation, is to believe on him unto the justification of life ; but no
other grace or duty is a coming unto Christ : and therefore have they
no place in justification. He who hath been convinced of sin, who
hath been wearied with the burden of it, who hath really designed
to fly from the wrath to come, and hath heard the voice of Christ
in the gospel inviting him to come unto him for help and relief, will
tell you that this coming unto Christ consisteth in a man's going out
of himself, in a complete renunciation of all his own duties and
righteousness, and betaking himself with all his trust and confidence
unto Christ alone, and his righteousness, for pardon of sin, accepta-
tion with God, and a right unto the heavenly inheritance. It may
be some will say this is not believing, but canting ; be it so: we refer
the judgment of it to the church of God.
294 ON JUSTIFICATION.
4. It is expressed by fleeing for refuge: Heb. vi. 18, " Who have
fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us." [See] Prov.
xviii. 10. Hence some have defined faith to be " perfugium animse,"
the flight of the soul unto Christ for deliverance from sin and misery.
And much light is given imto the understanding of the thing in-
tended thereby. For herein it is supposed that he who believeth is
antecedently thereunto convinced of his lost condition, and that if
he abide therein he must perish eternally; that he hath nothing of
himself whereby he may be delivered from it; that he must betake
himself unto somewhat else for rehef ; that unto this end he consi-
dereth Christ as set before him, and proposed unto him in the pro-
mise of the gospel ; that he judgeth this to be a holy, a safe way, for
his deliverance and acceptance with God, as that which hath the
characters of all divine excellencies upon it : hereon he fleeth unto it
for refuge, that is, with diligence and speed, that he perish not in
his present condition; he betakes himself unto it by placing his whole
trust and affiance thereon. And the whole nature of our justifica-
tion by Christ is better declared hereby, unto the supernatural sense
and experience of believers, than by a hundred philosophical dispu-
tations about it.
5. The terms and notions by which it is expressed under the Old
Testament are, leaning on God, Mic. iii. 11 ; or Christ, Cant. viii. 5 ; —
rolling or casting ourselves and our burden on the Lord, Ps. xxii. 8,
[margin,] xxxvii. 5 — (the wisdom of the Holy Ghost in which ex-
pressions hath by some been profanely derided) ; — resting on God,
or in him, 2 Chron. xiv. 11; Ps. xxxvii. 7 ; — clearing unto the Lord,
Deut. iv. 4; Acts xi. 23; as also hy trusting, hoping, and waiting, in
places innumerable. And it may be observed, that those who acted
faith as it is thus expressed, do everywhere declare themselves to be
lost, hopeless, helpless, desolate, poor, orphans; whereon they place
all their hope and expectation on God alone.
All that I woidd infer from these things is, that the faith whereby
we believe unto the justification of life, or which is required of us in
a way of duty that we may be justified, is such an act of the whole
soul whereby convinced sinners do wholly go out of themselves to
rest upon God in Christ for mercy, pardon, life, righteousness, and
salvation, with an acquiescency of heart therein ; which is the whole
of the truth pleaded for.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE PROPHETS. 295
CHAPTER XVI.
The truth pleaded farther confirmed by testimonies of Scripture. — Jer. xxiii. 6.
That which we now proceed unto, is the consideration of those
express testimonies of Scripture which are given unto the truth
pleaded for, and especially of those places where the doctrine of the
justification of sinners is expressly and designedly handled. From
them it is that we must learn the truth, and into them must our
faith be resolved ; unto whose authority all the arguings and objec-
tions of men must give place. By them is more light conveyed into
the understandings of believers than by the most subtile disputations.
And it is a thing not without scandal, to see among Protestants
whole books written about justification, wherein scarce one testimony
of Scripture is produced, unless it be to find out evasions from the
force of them. And, in particular, whereas the apostle Paul hath
most fully and expressly (as he had the greatest occasion so to do)
declared and vindicated the doctrine of evangelical justification, not
a few, in what they write about it, are so far from declaring their
thoughts and faith concerning it out of his writings, as that they be-
gin to reflect upon them as obscure, and such as give occasion unto
dangerous mistakes ; and unless, as was said, to answer and except
agamst them upon their own corrupt principles, seldom or never
make mention of them ; as though we were grown wiser than he,
or that Spirit whereby he was inspired, guided, acted in all that he
wrote. But there can be nothing more alien from the genius of Chris-
tian religion, than for us not to endeavour humbly to learn the mys-
tery of the grace of God herein, in the declaration of it made by him.
But the foundation of God standeth sure, what course soever men
shall be pleased to take into their profession of religion.
For the testimonies which I shall produce and insist upon, I desire
the reader to observe, — 1. That they are but some of the many that
might be pleaded unto the same purpose. 2. That those which have
been, or yet shall be alleged, on particular occasions, I shall wholly
omit; and such are most of thein that are given unto this truth in
the Old Testament. 3. That in the exposition of them I shall, with
what diligence I can, attend, — First, Unto the analogy of faith;
that is, the manifest scope and design of the revelation of the mind
and will of God in the Scripture. And that this is to exalt the fi'ee-
dom and riches of his o^vn grace, the glory and excellency of Christ
and his mediation ; to discover the woful, lost, forlorn condition of
man by sin ; to debase and depress every thing that is in and of our-
selves, as to the attaining life, righteousness, and salvation ; cannot be
df^nied by any who have their senses exercised in the Scriptures.
296 ON JtrSTIFICATIOX.
Secondly, Unto tlie experience of them that do believe, with tlie
condition of them who seek after justification by Jesus Christ. In
other things I hope the best helps and rules of the interpretation of
the Scripture shall not be neglected-
There is weight in this case deservedly laid on the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as promised and given unto us, — •
namely, " The Lord our Righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 6. As the name
Jehovah, being given and ascribed unto him, is a full indication of
his divine person; so the addition of his being our righteousness,
sufficiently declares that in and by him alone we have righteousness,
or are made righteous. So was he typed by Melchizedek, as first
the " King of righteousness," then the " King of peace," Heb. vii. 2 ;
for by his righteousness alone have we peace with God. Some of
the Socinians would evade this testimony, by observing, that right-
eousness in the Old Testament is urged sometimes for benignity,
kindness, and mercy ; and so they suppose it may be here. But the
most of them, avoiding the palpable absurdity of this imagination,
refer to the righteousness of God in the deliverance and vindication
of his people. So Brenius^ briefly, " Ita vocatur quia Dominus per
manum ejus judicium et justitiam faciet Israeli." But these are eva-
sions of bold men, who care not, so they may say somewhat, whether
what they say be agreeable to the analogy of faith or the plain
words of the Scripture. Bellarmine, who was more wary to give
some appearance of truth unto his answers, first gives other reasons
why he is called " The Lord our Bighteousness ; " and then, whether
unawares or overpowered by the evidence of truth, grants that sense
of the words which contains the whole of the cause we plead for.
"Christ," he says, " may be called 'The Lord our Bighteousness,' be-
cause he is the efficient cause of our righteousness;" — as God is said
to be our " strength and salvation." Again, " Christ is said to be our
righteousness, as he is our wisdom, our redemption, and oiu- peace;
because he hath redeemed us, and makes us wise and righteous, and
reconcileth us unto God." And other reasons of the same nature are
added by others. But not trusting to these expositions of the words,
he adds, " Deinde dicitur Christus justitia nostra, quoniam satisfecit
patri pro nobis, et eam satisfactionem ita nobis donat et communicat,
cum nos justificat, ut nostra satisfactio et justitia dici possit." And
afterward, " Hoc modo non esset absurdum, si quis diceret nobis
imputari Christi justitiam et merita, cum nobis donantur et appli-
cantur, ac si nos ipsi Deo satisfecissimus," De Justificat., lib. ii.
cap. 10; — "Christ is said to be our righteousness because he hath
made satisfaction for us to the Father; and doth so give and com-
municate that satisfaction unto us when he justifieth us, that it may
• The works of Dan. Brenius will be found in one of the two supplementary
volumes to the " Bibliotheca Fratrum Poloiioruni." — Ed.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE PROPHETS. 2.07
be said to be our satisfaction and righteousness. And in this sense
it would not be absurd if any one should say that the righteousness
of Christ and his merits are imputed unto us, as if we ourselves had
satisfied God," In this sense we say that Christ is " The Lord our
Righteousness;" nor is there any thing of importance in the whole
doctrine of justification that we own, which is not here granted by
the cardinal, and that in terms which some among ourselves scruple at
and oppose. I shall therefore look a little farther into this testimony,
which hath wrested so eminent a confession of the truth from so great
an adversary. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise
up unto David a righteous Branch ; and this is his name where-
by he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.
It is confessed among Christians that this is an illustrious renovation
of the first promise concerning the incarnation of the Son of God,
and our salvation by him. This promise was first given when we had
lost our original righteousness, and were considered only as those who
had sinned and come short of the glory of God. In this estate a
righteousness was absolutely necessary, that we might be again ac-
cepted with God; for without a righteousness, yea, that which is
perfect and complete, we never were so, nor ever can be so. In this
estate it is promised that he shall be our " righteousness ;" or, as the
apostle expresseth it, " the end of the law for righteousness to them
that do believe." That he is so, there can be no question ; the whole
inquiry is, hoAV he is so? This [is], say the most sober and modest of
our adversaries, because he is the efficient cause of our righteousness ;
that is, of our personal, inherent righteousness. But this righteous-
ness may be considered either in itself, as it is an effect of God's
grace, and so it is good and holy, although it be not perfect and
complete; or it may be considered as it is ours, inherent in us, ac-
companied with the remaining defilements of our nature. In that
respect, as this righteousness is ours, the prophet affirms that, in the
sight of God, " we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteous-
nesses are as filthy rags," Isa. Ixiv. 6. I^'T'P'IV"''? compriseth our whole
personal, inherent righteousness; and the Lord Christ cannot from
hence be denominated iJi?.']V ^"^j^], — " The Lord our Righteousness,"
seeing it is all as filthy rags. It must therefore be a righteousness of
another sort whence this denomination is taken, and on the account
whereof this name is given him : wherefore he is our righteousness, as
all our righteousnesses are in him. So the church, which confesseth
all her own righteousnesses to be as filthy rags, says, "In the Lord have
I righteousness," chap. xlv. 24, (which is expounded of Christ by the
apostle, Rom. xiv. 11 ;) ^ip"]^' Y '^1'^"'3 "H^, — " Only in the Lord are my
righteousnesses:" which two places the apostle expresseth, Phil. iii.
8, 9, " That I may win Christ, and be found m him, not having mine
298 ON JUSTIFICATION.
own righteousness, which is of the law" (in this case as filthy rags),
" but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith." Hence it is added, " In the Lord shall all
the seed of Israel be justified," Isa. xlv. 25, — namely, because he is, in
what he is, in what he was, and did, as given unto and for us, " our
righteousness," and our righteousness is all in him; which totally
excludes our own personal, inherent righteousness from any interest
in our justification, and ascribes it wholly unto the righteousness of
Christ. And thus is that emphatical expression of the psalmist, " I
will go m the strength of the Lord God" (for as unto holiness and
obedience, all our spiritual strength is from him alone) ; " and I will
make mention" T^.?? "ir^i^l-^, Ps. Ixxi. 16, "of thy righteousness, of
thine only." The redoubling of the affix excludes all confidence and
trusting in any thing but the righteousness of God alone. For tins
the apostle affirms to be the design of God in making Christ to be
righteousness unto us, — namely, " that no flesh should glory in his
presence ; but that he that glorieth, should glory in the Lord," 1 Cor.
i. 29, 3L For it is by faith alone making mention, as unto our justi-
fication, of the righteousness of God, of his righteousness only, that
excludes all boasting, Rom. iii. 27. And, besides what shall be
farther pleaded from particular testimonies, the Scripture doth emi-
nently declare how he is " The Lord our Righteousness," — namely,
in that he " makes an end of sin and reconciliation for iniquity, and
brings in everlasting righteousness," Dan. ix. 24. For by these things
is our justification completed, — namely, in satisfaction made for sin,
the pardon of it in our reconciliation unto God, and the providing for
us an everlastino: rifjhteousness. Therefore is he " The Lord our
Righteousness," and so rightly called. Wherefore, seeing lue had lost
original righteousness, and had none of our own remaining, and
stood in need of a perfect, complete righteousness to procure our ac-
ceptance with God, and such a one as might exclude all occasion of
boasting of any thing in ourselves, the Lord Christ being given and
made unto us "The Lord our Righteousness," in whom we have all our
righteousness (our own, as it is ours, being as filthy rags in the sight
of God) ; and this by making an end of sin, and reconciliation for ini-
quity, and bringing in everlasting righteousness: it is by his right-
eousness, hy his only, that we are justified in the sight of God, and
do glory. This is the substance of what in this case we plead for;
and thus it is delivered in Scripture, in a way bringing more light
and spiritual sense into the minds of believers than those philoso-
phical expressions and distinctions which vaunt themselves with a
pretence of propriety and accuracy.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE EVANGELISTS. 299
CHAPTER XVII.
Testimonies out of the evangelists considered.
The reasons why tlie doctrine of justification by the imputation
of the righteousness of Christ is more fully and clearly delivered in
the following writings of the New Testament than it is in those of
the evangelists, who wrote the history of the life and death of Christ,
have been before declared; but yet in them also it is sufficiently
attested, as unto the state of the church before the death and resur-
rection of Christ, which is represented in them. Some few of the
many testimonies which may be pleaded out of their writings unto
that purpose I shall consider, first, —
The principal design of our blessed Saviour's sermon, especially
that part of it which is recorded, Matt, v., is to declare the true na-
ture of righteousness before God. The scribes and Pharisees, from
a bondage unto whose doctrines he designed to vindicate the con-
sciences of those that heard him, placed all our righteousness before
God in the works of the law, or men's own obedience thereunto.
This they taught the people, and hereon they justified themselves, as
he chargeth them, Luke xvi. 15, " Ye are they which justify your-
selves before men; but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is
highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God," —
as in this sermon he makes it evident; and all those who were under
their conduct did seek to " establish their own righteousness, as it
were by the works of the law," Rom. ix. 32, x. 3. But yet were
they convinced in their own consciences that they could not attain
unto the law of righteousness, or unto that perfection of obedience
which the law did require. Yet would they not forego their proud,'
fond imagination of justification by their own righteousness; but, as
the manner of all men is in the same case, sought out other inven-
tions to relieve them against their convictions; for unto this end they
corrupted the whole law by their false glosses and interpretations, to
bring down and debase the sense of it, unto what they boasted in
themselves to perform. So doth he in whom our Saviour gives an
instance of the principle and practice of the whole society, by way of
a parable, Luke xviii. 11, 12; and so the young man affirmed that
he had kept the whole law from his youth, — namely, in their sense,
Matt. xix. 20.
To root this pernicious en'or out of the church, our Lord Jesus
Christ in many instances gives the true, spiritual sense and intention
of the law, manifesting what the righteousness is which the law re-
(|uires, and on what terms a man may be justified thereby. And
among sundry others to the same purpose, two things he evidently de-
300 ON JUSTIFICATION.
clares: — 1. That the law, in its precepts and prohibitions, had regard
unto the regulation of the heart, with all its first motions and act-
ings; for he asserts that the inmost thoughts of the heart, and the
first motions of concupiscence therein, though not consented unto,
much less actually accomplished in the outward deeds of sin, and all
the occasions leading unto them, are directly forbidden in the law.
This he doth in his holy exposition of the seventh commandment,
chap. V. 27-30. 2. He declares the ])enalty of the law on the least sin
to be hell-fire, in his assertion of causeless anger to be forbidden in
the sixth commandment. If men would but try themselves by these
rules, and others there given by our Saviour, it would, it may be,
take them off from boasting in their own righteousness and justifica-
tion thereby. But as it was then, so is it now also ; the most of them
who would maintain a justification by works, do attempt to corrupt
the sense of the law, and accommodate it unto their own practice.
The reader may see an eminent demonstration hereof in a late ex-
cellent treatise, whose title is, " The Practical Divinity of the Papists
Discovered to be Destructive of Christianity and Men's Souls." ^ The
spirituality of the law, with the severity of its sanction, extending
itself unto the least and most imperceptible motions of sin in the
heart, are not believed, or not aright considered, by them who plead
for justification by works in any sense. Wherefore, the principal
design of the sermon of our Saviour is, as to declare what is the na-
ture of that obedience which God requireth by the law, so to prepare
the minds of his disciples to seek after another righteousness, which,
in the cause and means of it, Avas not yet plainly to be declared,
although many of them, being prepared by the ministry of John, did
hunger and thirst after it.
But he sufiiciently intimates wherein it did consist, in that he
affirms of himself that he " came to fulfil the law," verse 1 7. What
he came for, that he was sent for; for as he was sent, and not for
himself, " he was born to us, given unto us." This was to fulfil the
law, that so the righteousness of it might be fulfilled in us. And if
we ourselves cannot fulfil the law, in the proper sense of its com-
mands (which yet is not to be abolished but established, as our Savi-
our declares) ; if we cannot avoid the curse and penalty of it upon its
' Dr Owen refers to a treatise written by David Clarkson, his colleague in the
charge of his congregation in London, and published in 1676. Clarkson had been
tutor to Archbishop Tillotson, and in 1662 had been ejected from Mortlake in
Surrey. lie was held in high esteem, and wrote some other works, which are
considered able and judicious. His sermons were published in one folio volume,
1696; and his miscellaneous works are contained in one of the volumes issued
under the auspices of the Wycliffe Society. He jjreached the funeral sermon on
the death of ])r Owen, whom he did not long survive. On the occasion of his
death in 1686 Dr Bates preached the funeral sermon, and commended the excel-
lence of the deceased in terms of great force and beauty, as one whose " life
was a silent repetition of his holy discourses." Howe and Baxter also unite in
praising his great learning and singular worth. — Ed.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE EVANGELISTS. 801
transgression ; and if he came to fulfil it for us (all which are declared
by himself) ; — then is his righteousness, even [that] which he wrought
for us in fulfilling the law, the righteousness wherewith we are justified
before God. And whereas here is a twofold righteousness proposed
unto us — one in the fulfilling of the law by Christ; the other in our
own perfect obedience unto the law, as the sense of it is by him de-
clared ; and other middle righteousness between them there is none,
— it is left unto the consciences of convinced sinners whether of these
they will adhere and trust unto ; and their direction herein is the
principal design we ought to have in the declaration of this doctrine.
I shall pass by all those places wherein the foundations of this doc-
trine are surely laid, because it is not expressly mentioned in them ;
but such they are as, m their proper interpretation, do necessarily
infer it. Of this kind are they all wherein the Lord Christ is said to
die for us or in our stead, to lay doAvn his life a ransom for us or in
our stead, and the like ; but I shall pass them by, because I will not
digress at all from the present argument.
But the representation made by our Saviour himself of the way
and means whereon and whereby men come to be justified before
God, in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, is a guide unto
all men who have the same design with them. Luke xviii. 9-14:
" And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up
into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publi-
can. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of
all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not
lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful unto me, a sinner. I tell you, that this man
Avent down unto his house justified rather than the other: for every
one that exalteth himself shall be abased ; and every one that hum-
bleth himself shall be exalted."
That the design of our Saviour herein was to represent the way of
our justification before God is evident, — 1. From the description given
of the persons whom he reflected on, verse 9. They were such as
" trusted in themselves that they were righteous ;" or that they had a
personal righteousness of their own before God. 2. From the general
rule wherewith he confirms the judgment he had given concerning
the persons described : " Every one that exalteth himself shall be
abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted," verse 1 4. As
this is applied unto the Pharisee, and the prayer that is ascribed unto
him, it declai'es plainly that every 2)lea of our oivn works, as unto
our justification before God, under any consideration, is a self-exal-
802 ON JUSTIFICATION.
tation which God despiseth; and, as applied unto the pubHcan, that
a sense of sin is the only preparation on our part for acceptance with
him on believing. Wherefore, both the persons are represented as
seeking to be justified; for so our Saviour expresseth the issue of
their address unto God for that purpose : the one was justified, the
other Avas not.
The plea of the Pharisee unto this end consists of two parts: —
1. That he had fulfilled the condition vfheveon he might be justi-
fied. He makes no mention of any merit, either of congruity or
condignity. Only, whereas there were two parts of God's covenant
then with the church, the one with respect unto the moral, the other
with respect unto the ceremonial law, he pleads the observation of
the condition of it in both parts, which he showeth in instances of
both kinds: only he adds the way that he took to farther him in
this obedience, somewhat beyond what was enjoined, — namely, that
he fasted twice in the week ; for when men begin to seek for righte-
ousness and justification by works, they quickly think their best
reserve lies in doing something extraordinary, more than other men,
and more, indeed, than is required of them. This brought forth all
the Pharisaical austerities in the Papacy. Nor can it be said that all
this signified nothing, because he was a hypocrite and a boaster; for
it will be replied that it should seem all are so who seek for justifi-
cation by works; for our Saviour only represents one that doth so.
Neither are these things laid in bar against his justification, but only
that he " exalted himself" m " trusting unto his own righteousness."
2. In an ascription of all that he did unto God : " God, I thank
thee." Although he did all this, yet he owned the aid and assistance
of God by his grace in it all. He esteemed himself much to differ
from other men; but ascribed it not unto himself that so he did.
All the righteousness and holiness which he laid claim unto, he
ascribed unto the benignity and goodness of God. Wherefore, he
neither pleaded any merit in his works, nor any works performed in
his own strength, without the aid of grace. All that he pretends is,
that by the grace of God he had fulfilled the condition of the cove-
nant; and thereon expected to be justified. And whatever words
men shall be pleased to make use of in their vocal prayers, God in-
terprets their minds according to what they trust in, as unto their
justification before him. And if some men will be true unto their
own principles, this is the prayer which, " mutatis mutandis," they
ought to make.
If it be said, that it is charged on this Pharisee that he " trusted in
himself," and " despised others," for which he was rejected; I answer,
— 1. This charge respects not the mind of the person, but the genius
and tendency of the opinion. The persuasion of justification by
Avorks includes in it a contempt of other men ; for " if Abraham had
TESTIMONIES FROM THE EVANGELISTS. 303
been justified by works, he should have had whereof to glory."
2. Those whom he despised were such as placed their whole trust in
gTace and mercy, — as this publican. It were to be wished that all
others of the same mind did not so also.
The issue is, with this person, that he was not justified; neither
shall any one ever be so on the account of his own personal righte-
ousness. For our Saviour hath told us, that when we have done
all (that is, when we have the testimony of our consciences unto the
integrity of our obedience), instead of pleading it unto our justifica-
tion, we should say (that is, really judge and profess) that we are
dovKoi dxpi/bi, — " unprofitable servants," Luke xvii. 10: as the apostle
speaks, " I know nothing by myself; yet am I not herel:)y justified,"
1 Cor. iv. 4. And he that is dovXog a%f£/bj, and hath nothing to
trust unto but his service, will be cast out of the presence of God,
Matt. XXV. 80. Wherefore, on the best of our obedience, to confess
ourselves BovXoi axpi/o', is to confess that, after all, in ourselves, we
deserve to be cast out of the presence of God.
In opposition hereunto, the state and prayer of the publican, under
the same design of seeking justification before God, are expressed.
And the outward acts of his person are mentioned, as representing
and expressive of the inward frame of his mind : " He stood afar oflF,"
and "did not so much as lift up his eyes;" he "smote upon his breast."
All of them represent a person desponding, yea, despairing in him-
self This is the nature, this is the effect, of that conviction of sin
which we before asserted to be antecedently necessaiy unto justifica-
tion. Displicency, sorrow, sense of danger, fear of wrath, — all are
present with him. In brief, he declares himself guilty before God,
and his mouth stopped as unto any apology or excuse. And his
prayer is a sincere application of his soul unto sovereign grace and
mercy, for a deliverance out of the condition wherein he was by rea-
son of the guilt of sin. And in the use of the word iXdoxo/iai, there
is respect had unto a propitiation. In the whole of his address there
is contained, — 1. Self-condemnation and abhorrency. 2. DispHcency
and sorrow for sin. 3. A universal renunciation of all works of his
o\Yn, as any condition of his justification. 4. An acknowledgment
of his sin, guilt, and misery. And this is all that, on our part, is
requhed unto justification before God, excepting that faith whereby
we apply ourselves unto him for deliverance.
Some make a weak attempt from hence to prove that justification
consists wholly in the remission of sin, because, on the prayer of the
publican for mercy and pardon, he is said to be "justified:" but there
is no force in this argument; for, — 1. The tvhole nature of justifi-
cation is not here declared, but only what is required on our part
thereunto. The respect of it unto the mediation of Christ waa not
304 ON JUSTIFICATION.
yet expressly to be brought to light; as was showed before. 2. Al-
though the publican makes his address unto God under a deep sense
of the guilt of sin, yet he prays not for the bare pardon of sin, but
for all that sovereign mercy or grace God hath provided for sinners.
3. The term of justification must have the same sense when applied
unto the Pharisee as when applied unto the publican; and if the
meaning of it with respect unto the publican be, that he was par-
doned, then hath it the same sense with respect unto the Pharisee, —
he was not pardoned. But he came on no such errand. He came to
be justified, not pardoned; nor doth he make the least mention of
his sin, or any sense of it. Wherefore, although the pardon of sin
be included in justification, yet to justify, in this place, hath respect
unto a righteousness whereon a man is declared just and righteous ;
wrapped up, on the part of the publican, in the sovereign producing
cause, — the mercy of God.
Some few testimonies may be added out of the other evangelist,
in whom they abound : " As many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name," John i. 12. Faith is expressed by the receiving of Christ;
for to receive him, and to believe on his name, are the same. It
receives him as set forth of God to be a propitiation for sin, as the
great ordinance of God for the recovery and salvation of lost sinners.
Wherefore, this notion of faith includes in it, — 1. A supposition of
the proposal and tender of Christ unto us, for some end and purpose.
2. That this proposal is made unto us in the promise of the gospel.
Hence, as we are said to receive Chiist, we are said to receive the
promise also. 8. The end for which the Lord Christ is so proposed
unto us in the promise of the gospel ; and this is the same with that
for which he was so proposed in the first promise, — namely, the re-
covery and salvation of lost sinners. 4. That in the tender of his
person, there is a tender made of all the fruits of his mediation, as
containing the way and means of our deliverance from sin and ac-
ceptance with God. 5. There is nothing requhed on our part unto
an interest in the end proposed, but receiving of him, or believing on
his name. 6. Hereby are we entitled unto the heavenly inheritance ;
we have power to become the sons of God, wherein our adoption is
asserted, and justification included. What this receiving of Christ
is, and wherein it doth consist, hath been declared before, in the
consideration of that faith whereby we are justified. That which
hence we argue is, that there is no more required unto the obtaining
of a right and title unto the heavenly inheritance, but faith alone in
the name of Christ, the receiving of Christ as the ordinance of God
for justification and salvation. This gives us, I say, our original right
TESTIMONIES FROM THE EVANGELISTS. 305
thereunto, and therein our acceptance with God, which is our justi-
fication; though more be required unto the actual acquisition and
possession of it. It is said, indeed, that other graces and Avorks are not
excluded, though faith alone be expressed. But every thing which
is not a receiving of Christ is excluded. It is, I say, virtually ex-
cluded, because it is not of the nature of that which is required.
When we speak of that whereby \we see, we exclude no other mem-
ber from being a part of the body ; but we exclude all but the eye
from the act of seeing. And if faith be required, as it is a receiving
of Christ, every gTace and duty which is not so is excluded, as unto
the end of justification.
Chap. iii. 14-18, " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that whoso-
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth
on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only be-
gotten Son of God."
I shall observe only a few things from these words, which in them-
selves convey a better light of understanding in this mystery unto the
minds of believers than many long discourses of some learned men:
— 1. It is of the justification of men, and their right to eternal life
thereon, that our Saviour discourseth. This is plain in verse 18, " He
that believeth on him is not condemned ; but he that believeth not is
condemned already." 2. The means of attaining this condition or
state on our part is believing only, as it is three times positively as-
serted, without any addition. 3. The nature of this faith is declared, —
(1.) By its object, — that is, Christ himself, the Son of God, "Whosoever
believeth in him;" which is frequently repeated. (2.) The especial
consideration wherein he is the object of faith unto the justification
of life ; and that is as he is the ordinance of God, given, sent, and
proposed, from the love and grace of the Father; " God so loved the
world, that he gave;" " God sent his Son." (3.) The especial act yet
included in the type, whereby the design of God in him is illustrated ;
for this was the looking unto the brazen serpent lifted up in the
wilderness by them who were stung with fieiy serjients. Hereunto
our faith in Christ unto justification doth answer, and includes a trust
in him alone for deliverance and relief This is the way, these are
the only causes and means, of the justification of condemned sinners,
and are the substance of all that we plead for.
It will be said, that all this proves not the imputation of the right-
VOL. V. 20
306 ON JUSTIFICATION.
eousness of Christ unto us, which is the thing principally inquired
after; but if nothing be required on our part unto justification but
faith acted on Christ, as the ordinance of God for our recovery and
salvation, it is the whole of what we plead for. A justification by the
remission of sins alone, without a righteousness giving acceptance
with God and a right unto the heavenly inheritance, is alien unto
the Scripture and the common notion of justification amongst men.
And what this righteousness must be, upon a supposition that faith
only on our part is required unto a participation of it, is sufficiently
declared in the words wherein Christ himself is so often asserted as
the object of our faith unto that purpose.
Not to add more particular testimonies, which are multiplied unto
the same purpose in this evangelist, the sum of the doctrine declared
by him is, " That the Lord Jesus Christ was ' the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world;' that is, by the sacrifice of him-
self, wherein he answered and fulfilled all the typical sacrifices of the
law: that unto this end he sanctified himself, that those who believe
might be sanctified, or perfected for ever, by his own offering of him-
self: that in the gospel he is proposed as lifted up and crucified for
us, as bearing all our sins in his body on the tree : that by faith in
him we have adoption, justification, freedom from judgment and con-
demnation, with a right and title unto eternal life : that those who
believe not are condemned already, because they believe not on the
Son of God ; and, as he elsewhere expresseth it, ' make God a liar,'
in that they believe not his testimony, namely, that ' he hath given
unto us eternal life, and that this life is in his Son.'" Nor doth he
anywhere make mention of any other means, cause, or condition of
justification on our part but faith only, though he aboundeth in pre-
cepts unto believers for love, and keeping the commands of Christ.
And this faith is the receiving of Christ in the sense newly declared ;
and this is the substance of the Christian faith in this matter; which
ofttimes we rather obscure than illustrate, by debating the considera-
tion of any thing in our justification but the grace and love of God,
the person and mediation of Christ, with faith in them.
CHAPTER XVIIL
The nature of justification as declared in the epistles of St Paul, in that unto the
Romans esjaeclally. — Chap. iii. [iv. v. x. ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Gal.
ii. IG; Eph. ii. S-IO; Phil. iii. 8, 9.]
That the way and manner of our justification before God, with
all the causes and means of it, are designedly declared by the apostle
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 307
in the Epistle to the Romans, cliap. iii., iv., v., as also vindicated from
objections, so as to render his discourse thereon the proper seat of
this doctrine, and whence it is principally to be learned, cannot mo-
destly be denied. The late exceptions of some, that this doctrine of
justification by faith without works is found only in the writings of
St Paul, and that his writings are obscure and intricate, are both
false and scandalous to Christian religion, so as that, in this place,
we shall not afford them the least consideration. He wrote i/to
Yl\iihfj.arog ayiou pspo^scoe, — as he was " moved by the Holy Ghost."
And as all the matter delivered by him was sacred truth, which im-
mediately requires our faith and obedience, so the way and manner
wherein he declared it was such as the Holy Ghost judged most ex-
pedient for the edification of the church. And as he said himself
with confidence, that if the gospel which he preached, and as it was
preached by him, though accounted by them foolishness, was hid, so
as that they could not understand nor comprehend the mystery of
it, it was " hid unto them that are lost;" so we may say, that if what
he delivereth in particular concemmg our justification before God
seems obscure, difficult, or perplexed unto us, it is from our prejudices,
corrupt affections, or weakness of understanding at best, not able to
comprehend the glory of this mystery of the grace of God in Christ,
and not from any defect in his way and manner of the revelation of
it. Rejecting, therefore, all such perverse insinuations, in a due sense
of our own weakness, and acknowledgment that at best we know but
in part, we shall humbly inquire into the blessed revelation of this-
great mystery of the justification of a sinner before God, as by him
declared in those chapters of his glorious Epistle to the Romans;
and I shall do it with all briefness possible, so as not, on this occa-
sion, to repeat what hath been already spoken, or to anticipate what
may be spoken in place more convenient.
The first thing he doth is to prove all men to be under sin, and
to be guilty before God. This he giveth as the conclusion of his
preceding discourse, from chap. i. 18, or what he had evidently evinced
thereby, chap. iii. 19, 23. Hereon an inquiry doth arise, how any of
them come to be justified before God? And whereas justification is
a sentence upon the consideration of a righteousness, his grand in-
quuy is, what that righteousness is, on the consideration whereof a
man may be so justified? And concerning this, he afiirms expressly
that it is not the righteousness of the law, nor of the works of it;
Avhereby what he doth intend hath been in part before declared, and
will be farther manifested in the process of our discourse. Where-
fore, in general, he declares that the righteousness whereby we are
justified is the righteousness of God, in opposition unto any righteous-
ness of our own, chap. i. 1 7; in. 21, 22. And he describes this right-
308 ON JUSTIFICATION.
eousness of God by three properties: — 1. That it is %wp/$ voi^ov, —
" without the law," verse 21 ; separated iu all its concerns from the
law ; not attainable by it, nor any works of it, which they have no
influence into. It is neither our obedience unto the law, nor attain-
able thereby. Nor can any expression more separate and exclude
the works of obedience unto the law from any concernment in it
than this doth. Wherefore, whatever is, or can be, performed by
ourselves in obedience unto the law, is rejected from any interest in
this ri'diteousness of God, or the procurement of it to be made ours.
2. Tliat yet it " is witnessed unto by the law," verse 21 : " The law
and the prophets."
The apostle, by this distinction of the books of the Old Testament
into " the law and the prophets," manifests that by the " law" he un-
derstands the books of Moses. And in them testimony is given unto
this righteousness of God four ways : —
(1.) By a declaration of the causes of the necessity of it unto our
justification. This is done in the account given of our apostasy from
God, of the loss of his image, and the state of sin that ensued thereon;
for hereby an end was put unto all possibility and hope of acceptance
with God by our own personal righteousness. By the entrance of
sin our own righteousness went out of the world ; so that there must
be another righteousness prepared and approved of God, and called
" the righteousness of God," in opposition unto our own, or all rela-
tion of love and favour between God and man must cease for ever.
(2.) In the way of recovery from this state, generally declared in
the first promise of the blessed seed, by whom this righteousness of
God was to be wrought and introduced ; for he alone was " to make
an end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness," D"'ppy P'lV,
Dan. ix, 24 ; that righteousness of God that should be the means
of the justification of the church in all ages, and under all dispensa-
tions.
(3.) By stopping up the way unto any other righteousness, through
the threatenings of the law, and that curse which every transgi'ession
of it was attended withal. Hereby it was plainly and fully declai'ed
that there must be such a righteousness provided for our justification
before men as would answer and remove that curse.
(4.) In the prefiguration and representation of that only way and
means whereby this righteousness of God was to be wrought. This
it did in all its sacrifices, especially in the gi'eat anniversary sacrifice
on the day of expiation, wherein all the sins of the church were laid
on the head of the sacrifice, and so carried away.
3. He describes it by the only way of our participation of it, the
only means on our part of the communication of it unto us. And
this is by faith alone : " The righteousness of God which is by the
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLAEED BY PAUL. 309
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ; for
there is no difference," Eona. iii. 22. Faith in Christ Jesus is so the
only way and means whereby this righteousness of God comes upon
us, or is communicated unto us, that it is so unto all that have this
faith, and only unto them; and that without difference on the consi-
deration of any thing else besides. And although faith, taken abso-
lutely, may be used in various senses, yet, as thus specified and
limited, the faith of Christ Jesus, or, as he calls it, " the faith that is
in me," Acts xxvi. ] 8, it can intend nothing but the reception of him,
and trust in him, as the ordinance of God for righteousness and sal-
vation.
This description of the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel,
which the apostle asserts as the only means and cause of our justifi-
cation before God, with the only way of its participation and com-
munication unto us, by the faith of Christ Jesus, fully confirms the
truth we plead for. For if the righteousness wherewith we must be
justified before God be not our own, but the righteousness of God,
as these things are directly opposed, Phil. iii. 9 ; and the only way
whereby it comes upon us, or we are made partakers of it, is by the
faith of Jesus Christ; then our own personal, inherent righteous-
ness or obedience hath no interest in our justification before God :
which argument is insoluble, nor is the force of it to be waived by
any distinctions whatever, if we keep our hearts unto a due rever-
ence of the authority of God m his word.
Having fully proved that no men living have any righteousness of
their own whereby they may be justified, but are all shut up imder
the guilt of sin; and having declared that there is a righteousness
of God now fully revealed in the gospel, whereby alone we may be
so, leaving all men in themselves unto their own lot, inasmuch as
" all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;" — he proceeds
to declare the nature of our justification before God in all the causes
of it, Rom. iii. 24-26, " Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus : whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sms 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 them that believe in Jesus."
Here it is that we ma}^ and ought, if anywhere, to expect the
interest of our 2iersonal uhedience, under some qualification or other,
in our justification to be declared. For if it should be supposed
(which yet it cannot, with any pretence of reason) that, in the fore-
going discourse, the apostle had excluded only the works of the law
as absolutely perfect, or as wrought in our own strength without the
aid of grace, or as meritorious ; yet having generally excluded all
310 ON JUSTIFICATION.
•works from our justification, verse 20, without distinction or limita-
tion, it might well be expected, and ought to have been so, that,
upon the full declaration which he gives us of the nature and way of
our justification, in all the causes of it, he should have assigned the
place and consideration which our own personal righteousness had in
our justification before God, — the first, or second, or continuation of
it, somewhat or other, — or at least made some mention of it, under
the qualification of gracious, sincere, or evangelical, that it might not
seem to be absolutely excluded. It is plain the apostle thought of
no such thing, nor was at all solicitous about any reflection that
might be made on his doctrine, as though it overthrew the necessity
of our own obedience. Take in the consideration of the apostle's
design, with the circumstances of the context, and the argument
from his utter silence about our own personal righteousness, in our
justification before God, is unanswerable. But this is not all ; we
shall find, in our progress, that it is expressly and directly excluded
by him.
All unprejudiced persons must needs think, that no words could
be used more express and emphatical to secure the whole of our jus-
tification unto the free grace of God, through the blood or mediation
of Christ, wherein it is faith alone that gives us an interest, than
these used here by the apostle. And, for my part, I shall only say,
that I know not how to express myself in this matter in words and
terms more express or significant of the conception of my mind.
And if we could all but subscribe the answer here given by the
apostle, how, by what means, on what grounds, or by what causes,
we are justified before God, — namely, that " we are justified freely by
his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood," etc., —
there might be an end of this controversy.
But the principal passages of this testimony must be distinctly
considered. First, the principal efficient cause is first expressed with
a peculiar emphasis, or the " causa vporiyovfjuBvri'" AiKaiouiUbsvoi dc>}pi&v
rp ahro\J xapiri, — " Being justified freely by his grace." God is the
principal efficient cause of our justification, and his grace is the only
moving cause thereof I shall not stay upon the exception of those
of the Roman church,-— namely, that by rfi %a^/r/ ahrou (which their
translation renders " per gratiam Dei"), the internal, inherent grace
of God, which they make the formal cause of justification, is intended;
— for they have nothing to prove it but that which overthrows it,
namely, that it is added unto hupidv, " freely;" which were needless,
if it signify the free grace or favour of God : for both these expres-
sions, " gratis per gratiam," " freely by grace," are put together to
give the greater emphasis unto this assertion, wherein the whole of
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 811
our justification is vindicated unto the free grace of God. So far as
they are distinguishable, the one denotes the principle from whence
our justification proceeds, — namely, grace; and the other, the tnan-
ner of its operation, — it works freely. Besides, the grace of God in
this subject doth everywhere constantly signify his goodness, love,
and favour; as hath been undeniably proved by many. See Rom.
v. 15; Eph. ii. 4, 8, 9; 2 Tim. i. 9; Tit. iii. 4, 5.
" Being justified dojpsdv" (so the LXX. render the Hebrew particle
D3n)^ — " without price," without merit, without cause ; — and some-
times it is used for "without end;" that is, what is done in vain, as
dupidv is used by the apostle, Gal. ii. 21 ; — without price or reward,
Gen. xxix. 15; Exod. xxL 2; 2 Sam. xxiv. 24; — without cause, or
merit, or any means of procurement, 1 Sam. xix. 5 ; Ps. Ixix. 4 ; in
this sense it is rendered by dojpsdv, John xv. 25. The design of the
word is to exclude all consideration of any thing in us that should
be the cause or condition of our justification. Xdpig, " favour," abso-
lutely considered, may have respect unto somewhat in him towards
whom it is showed. So it is said that Joseph found grace or favour,
X<^ptv, in the eyes of Potiphar, Gen. xxxix. 4: but he found it not
dupidv, without any consideration or cause; for he "saw that the
Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his
hand," verse 3. But no words can be found out to free our justi-
fication before God from all respect unto any thing m ourselves, but
only what is added expressly as the means of its participation on our
part, through faith in his blood, more emphatical than these here
used by the apostle : Aojpsdv rfj alrou xdpin, — " Freely by his grace."
And with whom this is not admitted, as exclusive of all works or obe-
dience of our own, of all conditions, preparations, and merit, I shall
despair of ever expressing my conceptions about it intelligibly unto
them.
Having asserted this righteousness of God as the cause and means
of our justification before him, in opposition unto all righteousness of
our own, and declared the cause of the communication of it unto us
on the part of God to be mereofree, sovereign grace, the means on our
part whereby, according unto \the ordination of God, we do receive,
or are really made partakers of, that righteousness of God whereon
we are justified, is by faith: A/a t-^j -^igriajg Iv avTov a'i/xan, — that is,
" By faith alone." Nothing else is proposed, nothing else required
unto this end. It is replied, that there is no intimation that it is by
faith alone, or that faith is asserted to be the means of our justification
exclusively unto other gi'aces or works. But there is such an exclu-
sion dhectly included m the description given of that faith whereby we
are justified, with respect unto its especial object, — " By faith in his
blood;" for faith respecting the blood of Christ as that whereby pro-
312 ON JUSTIFICATION.
pitiation was made for sin, — in wbicli respect alone tlie apostle affirms
that we are justified through faith, — admits of no association with any
other graces or duties. Neither is it any part of their nature to fix
on the blood of Christ for justification before God ; wherefore they
are all here directly excluded. And those who think otherwise may
try how they can introduce them into this context without an evi-
dent corrupting of it, and pervertmg of its sense. Neither will the
(jther evasion yield our adversaries the least relief, — namely, that by
faith, not the single grace of faith is intended, but the whole obedi-
ence requned in the new covenant, faith and works together. For as
all works whatever, as our works, are excluded in the declaration of
the causes of our justification on the part of God (^Aupiav rji aWov %ap/r/,
— "Freely by his grace"), by virtue of that great rule, Rom. xi. 6, " If
by grace, then no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace;"
so the determination of the object of faith in its act or duty, whereon
we are justified. — namely, the blood of Christ, — is absolutely exclusive
of all works from an interest in that duty; for whatever looks unto
the blood of Christ for justification is faith, and nothing else. And
I as for the calling of it a single act or duty, I refer the reader unto
our preceding discourse about the nature of justifying faith.
Three things the apostle inferreth from the declaration he had
made of the nature and causes of our justification before God, all of
them farther illustrating the meaning and sense of his words : —
1. That boasting is excluded: Ilo-j ovv tj %a.byj\sti;\ I^e/cXs/V^^, chap. iii.
27. Aj)parent it is from hence, and from v.'hat he affirms concerning
Abraham, chap. iv. 2, that a great part, at least, of the controversy
he had about justification, was, whether it did admit of any Ttahyjietg
or xaiip/'/j/xa in those that were justified. And it is known that the
Jews placed all their hopes in. those things whereof they thought
they could boast, — namely, their privileges and then- righteousness.
But from the declaration made of the nature and causes of justifica-
tion, the apostle infers that all boasting whatever is utterly shut out
of doors, — s^sjcXs/cr^'/j. Boasting, in our language is the name of a vice;
and is never used in a good sense. But yia-uyridtg and TtavyrnMO,, the
words used by the apostle, are Ix rZiv iiUm^ — of an indifferent significa-
tion; and, as they are appHed, may denote a virtue as well as a vice:
so they do, Heb. iii. 6.
But always, and in all places, they respect something that is pecu-
liar in or unto them unto whom they are ascribed. Wherever any
thing is ascribed unto one, and not unto another, with respect unto
any good end, there is fundamentum %ci.\iyJ]Siwg^ — a " foundation for
boasting." All this, saith the apostle, in the matter of our justifica-
tion, is utterly excluded. But wherever respect is had unto any con-
dition or qualification in one more than another, especially if it be of
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL, 313
works, it giveth a ground of boasting, as he affirms, Eom. iv. 2. And
it appears, from comparing that verse witli this, that wherever there
is any influence of our own works into our justification, there is a
ground of boasting; but in evangehcal justification no such boasting
in any kind can be admitted. Wherefore, there is no place for works
in our justification before God; for if there were, it is impossible but
that a xauyj^ijja,, in one kind or other, before God or man, must be
admitted.
2. He infers a general conclusion, " That a man is justified by faith,
without the works of the law," chap. iii. 28. What is meant by " the
law," and what by " the works of the law," in this discourse of the
apostle about our justification, hath been before declared. And if we
are justified freely through faith in the blood of Christ, that fiiith which
hath the propitiation of Christ for its especial object, or as it hath so,
can take no other grace nor duty into partnership with itself therein ;
and being so justified as that all such boasting is excluded as neces-
sarily results from any differencing graces or works in ourselves,
wherein all the works of the law are excluded, it is certain that it is
by faith alone in Christ that we are justified. All works are not only
excluded, but the way unto their return is so shut up by the method
of the apostle's discourse, that all the reinforcements which the wit
of man can give unto them Avill never introduce them into our
justification before God.
8. He asserts from hence, that we " do not make void the law
through grace," but establish it, verse 31 ; which, how it is done, and
how alone it can be done, hath been before declared.
This is the substance of the resolution the apostle gives unto that
great inquiry, how a guilty convinced sinner may come to be justified
in the sight of God? — " The sovereign grace of God, the mediation of
Christ, and faith in the blood of Christ, are all that he requireth
thereunto." And whatever notions men may have about justification
in other respects, it will not be safe to venture on any other resolu-
tion of this case and inquiry; nor are we wiser than the Holy Ghost.
Rom. chap. iv. In the beginning of the fourth chapter he con-
firms what he had before doctrinally declared, by a signal instance;
and this was of the justification of Abraham, who being the father of
the faithful, his justification is proposed as the pattern of ours, as he
expressly declares, verses 22-24. And some few things I shall observe
on this instance in our passage unto the fifth verse, where I shall fix
our discourse.
1. He denies that Abraham was justified by works, verse 2.
And, — (1.) These works were not those of the Jewish lata, whicli
alone some pretend to be excluded from our justification in this
place; for they were the works he performed some hundreds of years
314 ON JUSTIFICATION.
before the giving of the law at Sinai: wherefore they are the works
of his moral obedience unto God that are intended. (2.) Those
works must be understood which Abraham had then, when he is
said to be justified in the testimony produced unto that purpose;
but the works that Abraham then had were works of righteousness,
performed in faith and love to God, works of netv obedience under
the conduct and aids of the Spirit of God, works required in the
covenant of grace. These are the works excluded from the justifica-
tion of Abraham. And these things are plain, express, and evident,
not to be eluded by any distinctions or evasions. All Abraham's
evangelical works are expressly excluded from his justification before
God.
2. He proves by the testimony of Scripture, declaring the nature
and grounds of the justification of Abraham, that he was justified no
other way but that which he had before declared, — namely, by grace,
through faith in Christ Jesus, verse 3. " Abraham believed God"
(in the promise of Christ and his mediation), " and it was counted
unto him for righteousness," verse 3. He was justified by faith in
the way before described (for other justification by faith there is
none), in opposition unto all his own works and personal righteous-
ness thereby.
3. From the same testimony he declares how he came to be par-
taker of that righteousness whereon he was justified before God;
which was by imputation: it was counted or imputed unto Lim for
righteousness. The nature of imputation hath been before declared.
4. The especial nature of this imputation, — namely, that it is of
grace, without respect unto works, — he asserts and proves, verse 4,
from what is contrary thereunto : " Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." Where works are of
any consideration, there is no room for that kind of imputation
whereby Abraham was justified : for it was a gracious imputation,
and that is not of what is our own antecedently thereunto, but what
is made our own by that imputation; for what is our own cannot be
imputed unto us in a way of grace, but only reckoned ours in a way
of debt. That which is our own, with all the effects of it, is due unto
us ; and, therefore, they who plead that faith itself is imputed unto us,
to give some countenance unto an imputation of grace, do say it is
imputed not for what it is, for then it would be reckoned of debt, but
for what it is not. So Socinus, " Cum fides imputatur nobis pro
justitia, ideo imputatur, quia nee ipsa fides justitia est, nee verfe in se
cam continet," De Servat., part iv. cap. 2. Which kind of imputa-
tion, being indeed only a false imagination, we have before disproved.
But all works are inconsistent with that imputation whereby Abraham
was justified. It is otherwise with him that worketh, so as thereon
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 815
to be justified, than it was with him. Yea, say some, " All works that
are meritorious, that are performed with an opinion of merit, that
make the reward to be of debt, are excluded; but other works are
not." This distinction is not learned from the apostle ; for, accord-
ing unto him, if this be merit and meritorious, that the reward be
reckoned of debt, then all works in justification are so. For, without
distinction or limitation, he affirms that " unto him that worketh, the
reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt." He doth not exclude
some sort of works, or Avorks in some sense, because they would make
the reward of debt, but affirms that all would do so, unto the exclu-
sion of gracious imputation; for if the foundation of imputation be
in ourselves, imputation by grace is excluded. In the fifth verse,
the sum of the apostle's doctrine, which he had contended for, and
what he had proved, is expressed: " But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness." It is granted on all hands, that the close of the
verse, " His faith is counted for righteousness," doth express the jus-
tification of the person intended. He is justified ; and the way of it
is, his faith is counted or imputed. "Wherefore, the foregoing words
declare the subject of justification and its qualification, or the descrip-
tion of the person to be justified, with all that is required on his part
thereunto.
And, first, it is said of him that he is 6 imti l^ya^o/isi/og, — " who
worketh not." It is not required unto his justification that he should
not work, that he should not perform any duties of obedience unto
God in any kind, which is working ; for every person in the world is
always obliged unto all duties of obedience, according to the light and
knowledge of the will of God, the means whereof is afforded unto
him: but the expression is to be limited by the subject-matter
treated of; — he " who worketh not," with respect unto justification ;
though not the design of the person, but the nature of the thing is
intended. To say, he who worketh not is justified through believing,
is to say that his works, whatever they be, have no influence into his
justification, nor hath God in justifying of him any respect unto
them: wherefore, he alone who worketh not is the subject of justi-
fication, the person to be justified ; that is, God considereth no man's
works, no man's duties of obedience, in his justification, seeing we
are justified hupiav rfi avrov %ap/r/, — *' freely by his grace." And
when God affirmeth expressly that he justifieth him who worketh
not, and that freely by his grace, I cannot understand what place our
works or duties of obedience can have in our justification; for why
should we trouble ourselves to invent of what consideration they
may be in our justification before God, when he himself affirms that
they are of none at all? Neither are the words capable of any
S 1 G ON JUSTIFICATION.
evading interpretation. He tliat worketh not is lie that luorketh not,
let men say what tliey please, and distinguish as long as they will :
and it is a boldness not to be justified, for any to rise up in opposition
unto such express divine testimonies, however they may be harnessed
with philosophical notions and arguings; which are but as thorns and
briers, which the word of God will pass through and consume.
But the apostle farther adds, in the description of the subject of
justification, that God " justifieth the ungodly." This is that expres-
sion which hath stirred up so mucli wrath amongst many, and on the
account whereof some seem to be much displeased with the apostle
himself. If any other person dare but say that God justifieth the un-
godly, he is personally reflected on as one that by his doctrine would
overthrow the necessity of godliness, holiness, obedience, or good
works ; " for what need can there be of any of them, if God justi-
fieth the ungodly V Howbeit this is a periphrasis of God, that he
is 6 dixaiojv rev affsC^, — " he that justifieth the ungodly." This is his
prerogative and property; as such will he be believed in and wor-
shipped, which adds weight and emphasis unto the expression; and
we must not forego this testimony of the Holy Ghost, let men be as
angry as they please.
" But tlie difference is about the meaning of the words." If so, it
may be allowed without mutual ofi:ence, though we should mistake
their proper sense. Only, it must be granted that God "justifieth the
ungodly." "That is," say some, "those who formerly were ungodly, not
those who continue ungodly when they are justified." And this is
most true. All that are justified were before ungodly; and all that
are justified are at the same instant made godly. But the question
is, whether they are godly or imgodly antecedently in any moment
of time unto their justification? If they are considered as godly,
and are so indeed, then the apostle's words are not true, that God
justifieth the ungodly; for the contradictory proposition is true, God
justifieth none but the godly. For these propositions, God justi-
fieth the ungodly, and God justifieth none but the godly, are con-
tradictory; for here are expressly Kara<^a6ii and a'x6(f>acig a.vrr/,ii/j,smif
which is avTj<paaig.
Wherefore, although in and with the justification of a sinner, he
is made godly, — for he is endowed with that faith which purifieth the
heart and is a vital principle of all obedience, and the conscience is
purged from dead works by the blood of Christ, — yet antecedently
unto this justification he is ungodly and considered as ungodly, as
one that worketh not, as one whose duties and obedience contribute
nothing unto his justification. As he worketh not, all works are ex-
cluded from being the " causa per quam ;" and as he is ungodly, from
being the " causa sine qua uou" of his justification.
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL, 817
The qualification of the subject, or the means on the part of the
person to be justified, and whereby he becomes actually so to be, is
faith, or believing : " But believeth on him who justifieth the un-
godly ;" — that is, it is faith alone. For it is the faith of him who
worketh not ; and not only so, but its especial object, God as justifying
the ungodly, is exclusive of the concomitancy of any works whatever.
This is faith alone, or it is impossible to express faith alone, with-
out the literal use of that word alone. But faith being asserted in
opposition unto all works of ours, "unto him that worketh not;" and
its especial nature declared in its especial object, God as "justifying
the ungodly," — that is, freely by his gTace, through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus ; — no place is left for any works to make the least
approach towards our justification before God, under the covert of
any distinction whatever. And the nature of justifying faith is here
also determined. It is not a mere assent unto divine revelations; it
is not such a firm assent unto them as should cause us to yield obedi-
ence unto all the precepts of the Scripture, — though these things are
included in it; but it is a believing on and trusting unto him that
justifieth the ungodly, through the mediation of Christ.
Concerning this person, the apostle afiirmeth that " his faith is
counted for righteousness ;" — that is, he is justified in the way and
manner before declared. But there is a difference about the sense
of these words. Some say the meaning of them is, ihaX faith, as an
act, a grace, a duty, or work of ours, is so imputed. Others say
that it is faith as it apprehends Christ and his righteousness, which
is properly imputed unto us, that is intended. So faith, they
say, justifieth, or is counted for righteousness relatively, not pro-
perly, with I'espect unto its object ; and so acknowledge a trope in
the words. And this is fiercely opposed, as though they denied the
express words of the Scripture, when yet they do but interpret this
expression, once only used, by many others, wherein the same thiug
is declared. But those who are for the first sense, do all afiirm that
faith here is to be taken as including obedience or works, either as the
fonn and essence of it, or as such necessary concomitants as have the
same influence with it into our justification, or are in the same
manner the condition of it. But as herein they admit also of a trope
in the words, which they so fiercely blame in others, so they give
this sense of the whole : " Unto him that worketh not, but believeth
in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith and works are counted to
him for righteousness ;" — which is not only to deny what the ajjostle
aflSrms, but to assign unto him a plain contradiction.
And I do a little marvel that any unprejudiced person should
expound this solitary expression in such a sense as is contradictory
unto the design of the apostle, the Avords of the same period, and
SI 8 ON JUSTIFICATION.
the whole ensuing context. For that which the apostle proposeth
unto confirmation, which contains his whole design, is, that we are
justified by the righteousness which is of God by faith in the blood
of Christ. That this cannot be faith itself shall immediately be made
evident. And in the words of the text all works are excluded, if any
words be sufficient to exclude them ; but faith absolutely, as a single
grace, act, and duty of ours, much more as it includeth obedience in
it, is a work, — and in the latter sense, it is all works. And La the
ensuing context he proves that Abraham was not justified by works.
But not to be justified by works, and to be justified by some works,
— as faith itself is a work, and if, as such, it be imputed unto us for
righteousness, we are justified by it as such, — are contradictory.
Wherefore, I shall oppose some few arguments unto this feigned
sense of the apostle's words: —
1. To believe absolutely, — as faith is an act and duty of ours, —
and works are not opposed, for faith is a work, an especial kind of
Avorking; hnt faith, as we are justified by it, and luorks, or to work,
are opposed : " To him that worketh not, but believeth." So Gal.
ii. 16 ; Eph. ii. 8, 9.
2. It is the righteousness of God that is imputed unto us ; for
we are " made the righteousness of God in Christ," 2 Cor. v. 21 ;
" The righteousness of God upon them that believe," Rom. iii. 21, 22 ;
but faith, absolutely considered, is not the righteousness of God.
" God imputeth unto us righteousness without works," chap. iv. 6 ;
but there is no intimation of a double imputation, of two sorts of
righteousnesses, — of the righteousness of God, and that which is not
so. Now faith, absolutely considered, is not the righteousness of
God; for, —
(1.) That whereunto the righteousness of God is revealed, whereby
we believe and receive it, is not itself the righteousness of God ; for
nothing can be the cause or means of itself; — but the righteousness
of God is " revealed unto faith," chap. i. 1 7 ; and by it is it " re-
ceived," chap. iii. 22, v. 11.
(2.) Faith is not the righteousness of God which is by faith ; but
the righteousness of God which is imputed unto us is " the righteous-
ness of God which is by faith," chap. iii. 22 ; Phil. iii. 9.
(3.) That whereby the righteousness of God is to be sought,
obtained, and submitted unto, is not that righteousness itself; but
such is faith, Rom. ix. 30, 31, x. 3, 4.
(4.) The righteousness which is imputed unto us is not our own
antecedently unto that imputation : " That I may be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness," Phil. iii. 9 ; but faith is a man's
own : "Show me thy faith, and I will show thee my faith," James ii. 18.
(5.) " God imputeth righteousness " unto us, Rom. iv. 6 ; and
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL, 319
tliat righteousness whicli God imputetli unto us is the lighteousness
whereby we are justified, for it is imputed unto us that we may be
justified; — but we are justified by the obedience and blood of Christ;
" By the obedience of one we are made righteous," chap. v. 19;
" Much more now being justified by his blood," verse 9 ; " He hath
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," Heb. ix. 26; Isa. liii. 11,
" By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities." But faith is neither the obedience nor
the blood of Christ.
(6.) Faith, as we said before, is our own; and that which is our
own may be imputed unto us. But the discourse of the apostle is
about that which is not our own antecedently unto imputation, but
is made ours thereby, as we have proved ; for it is of grace. And the
imputation unto us of what is really our own antecedently unto that
imputation, is not of grace, in the sense of the apostle; for what is
so imputed is imputed for what it is, and nothing else. For that
imputation is but the judgment of God concerning the thing imputed,
with respect unto them whose it is. So the act of Phinehas was
imputed unto him for righteousness. God judged it, and declared it
to be a righteous, rewardable act. Wherefore, if our faith and obedi-
ence be imputed unto us, that imputation is only the judgment of
God that we are believers, and obedient. " The righteousness of the
righteous," saith the prophet, " shall be upon him, and the wicked-
ness of the wicked shall be upon him," Ezek. xviii. 20. As the
wickedness of the wicked is upon hmi, or is imputed unto him; so
the righteousness of the righteous is upon him, or is imputed unto
him. And the wickedness of the wicked is on him, when God
judgeth him wicked as his works are; so is the righteousness of a
man upon him, or imputed unto him, when God judgeth of his right-
eousness as it is. Wherefore, if faith, absolutely considered, be im-
puted unto us as it contains in itself, or as it is accompanied with,
works of obedience; then it is imputed unto us, either for a perfect
righteousness, which it is not, or for an imperfect righteousness, which
it is ; or the imputation of it is the accounting of that to be a perfect
righteousness which is but imperfect. But none of these can be
affirmed : —
[1.] It is not imputed unto us for a perfect righteousness, the
righteousness required by the law; for so it is not. Episcopius con-
fesseth in his disputation, disput. 45, sect. 7, 8, that the righteousness
which is imputed unto us must be " absolutissima et perfectissima," —
" most absolute and most perfect." And thence he thus defineth the
imputation of righteousness unto us, — namely, that it is, '■' gratiosa
di\'ina3 mentis aestimatio, qua credentem in Filium suum, eo loco
reputat ac si perfects Justus esset, ac legi et voluntati ejus per omnia
320 ON JUSTIFICATION.
semper paruisset." And no man will pretend that faith is such a
most absolute and most perfect righteousness, as that by it the right-
eousness of the law should be fulfilled in us, as it is by that righteous-
ness which is imputed unto us.
[2.] It is not imputed unto us for what it is, — aw imjierfect right-
eousness; for. First, This would be of no advantage unto us; for
we cannot be justified before God by an imperfect righteousness, as
is evident in the prayer of the psalmist, Ps. cxliii. 2, " Enter not into
judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight no man living" (no servant
of thine who hath the most perfect or highest measure of imperfect
righteousness) " shall be justified." Secondly, The imputation of
any thing unto us that was ours antecedently unto that imputation,
for what it is, and no more, is contrary unto the imputation described
by the apostle ; as hath been proved.
[3.] This imputation pleaded for cannot be a judging of that to
be a perfect righteousness which is imperfect ; for the judgment of
God is according to truth. But without judging it to be such, it
cannot be accepted as such. To accept of any thing, but only for
what we judge it to be, is to be deceived.
Lastly, If faith, as a work, be imputed unto us, then it must be as
a work wrought in faith; for no other work is accepted with God.
Then must that faith also wherein it is wrought be imputed unto us ;
for that also is faith and a good work. That, therefore, must have
another faith from whence it must proceed ; and so " in infinitum."
Many other things there are in the ensuing explication of the justi-
fication of Abraham, the nature of his faith and his righteousness
before God, with the application of them unto all that do believe,
which may be justly pleaded unto the same pui^pose with those pas-
sages of the context which we have insisted on ; but if every testi-
mony should be joleaded which the Holy Ghost hath given unto this
truth, there would be no end of writing. One thing more I shall ob-
sei've, and put an end unto our discourse on this chapter.
Rom. iv. 6-8. The apostle pursues his argument to prove the free-
dom of our justification by faith, without respect unto works, through
the imputation of righteousness, in the instance of pardon of sin,
which essentially belongeth thereunto. And this he doth by the
testimony of the psalmist, who placeth the blessedness of a man in
the remission of sins. His design is not thereby to declare the full
nature of justification, wliich he had done before, but only to prove
the freedom of it from any respect unto works in the instance of that
essential part of it. " Even as David also describeth the blessedness
of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,"
(which was the only thing he designed to prove by this testimony),
" saying. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven." He de-
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 321
scribes their blessedness by it;— not tliat their whole blessedness doth
consist therein, but this concurs unto it, wherein no respect can pos-
sibly be had unto any works whatever. And he may justly from
hence describe the blessedness of a man, in that the imputation of
righteousness and the non-imputation of sin (both which the apostle
mentioneth distinctly), wherein his whole blessedness as unto justifi-
cation doth consist, are inseparable. And because remission of sin is
the first part of justification, and the principal part of it, and hath the
imputation of righteousness always accompanying it, the blessedness
of a man maybe well described thereby; yea, whereas all spiritual
blessings go together in Christ, Eph. i. 3, a man's blessedness may be
described by any of them. But yet the imputation of righteousness
and the remission of sin are not the same, no more than righteousness
imputed and sin remitted are the same. Nor doth the apostle pro-
j)ose them as the same, but mentioneth them distinctly, both being
equally necessary unto our complete justification, as hath been proved.
Rom. V. 12-21. " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned : (for until the law sin was in the world : but sin is
not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the simi-
litude of Adam's transgi-ession, who is the figure of him that was to
come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through
the offence of one many be dead ; much more the grace of God, and
the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded
unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift : for
the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of
many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace,
and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ :)
Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobe-
dience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence
might abound: but where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound : that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might gi'ace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord."
The apostle, chap. iii. 27, affirms that in this matter of justification
all 7ca\j^n<^jg, or " boasting," is excluded ; but here, in the verse fore-
going, he grants a boastmg or a xabynriiMa. Oh i^ovov hs, aXKa TioLi xaxiyj^'Lim
h Tw Qiui' — " And not only so, but we also glory in God." He excludes
boasting in ourselves, because there is nothing in us to procure or
VOL. V. 21
S22 ON JUSTIFICATION.
promote our own. justification. He allows it us in God, because of
the eminency and excellency of the way and means of our justifica-
tion which in his grace he hath provided. And the zau^n/jca, or
" boasting" in God, here allowed us, hath a peculiar re.spect unto
Avhat the apostle had in prospect farther to discourse of Oh //,6vov 81, —
" And not only so," — includes what he had principally treated of be-
fore concerning our justification, so far as it consists in the pardon of
sin ; for although he doth suppose, yea, and mention, the imputation
of righteousness also unto us, yet principally he declares our justifi-
cation by the pardon of sin and our freedom from condemnation,
whereby all boasting in ourselves is excluded. But here he designs
a farther progress, as unto that whereon our glorying in God, on a
right and title freely given us unto eternal life, doth depend. And
this is the imputation of the righteousness and obedience of Christ
unto the justification of life, or the reign of grace through righteous-
ness unto eternal life.
Great complaints have been made by some concerning the obscurity
of the discourse of the apostle in this place, by reason of sundry
ellipses, antapodota, hyperbata, and other figures of speech, which
either are or are feigned to be therein. Howbeit, I cannot but think,
that if men acquainted mth the common principles of Christian re-
ligion, and sensible in themselves of the nature and guilt of our ori-
ginal apostasy from God, would without prejudice read rdurriv rnv
rripioyjiv rjjs rpa^Jjg, — " this place of the ScrijDture," — they will grant
that the design of the apostle is to prove, that as the sin of Adam
was imputed unto all men unto condemnation, so the righteousness
or obedience of Christ is imputed unto all that believe unto the
justification of life. The sum of it is given by Theodoret, Dial. iii.
" Vide, quomodo quse Christi sunt cum iis qu« sunt Adami confe-
rantur, cum morbo medicina, cum vulnere emplastrum, cum j)eccato
justitia, cum execratione benedictio, cum condemnatione remissio,
cum transgressione obedientia, cum morte vita, cum inferis regnum,
Christus cum Adam, homo cum homine."
The differences that are among intei'preters about the exposition
of these words relate unto the use of some particles, prepositions, and
the dependence of one passage upon another; on none of which the
confirmation of the truth pleaded for doth depend. But the plain
design of tlie apostle, and his express propositions, are such as, if men
could but acquiesce in them, might put an end unto this contro-
versy.
Socinus acknowledgeth that this place of Scripture doth give, as
he speaks, the greatest occasion unto our opinion in this matter; for
he cannot deny but at least a gTeat appearance of what we believe
is represented in the words of the apostle. He doth, therefore, use
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 323
his utmost endeavour to wrest and deprave them; and yet, although
most of his artifices are since traduced hito the annotations of others
upon the place, he himself produceth nothing material but what is
taken out of Origen, and the comment of Pelagius on this epistle,
which is extant in the works of Jerome, and was urged before him
by Erasmus. The substance of what he pleads for is, that the actual
transgression of Adam is not imputed unto his posterity, nor a de-
praved nature from thence communicated unto them ; only, whereas
he had iucuiTed the penalty of death, all that derive their nature
from him in that condition are rendered subject unto death also.
And as for that corruption of nature which is in us, or a proneness
unto sin, it is not derived from Adam, but is a habit contracted by
many continued acts of our own. So also, on the other hand, that the
obedience or righteousness of Christ is not imputed unto us; on]y_
when we make ourselves to become his children by our obedience
unto him, — he having obtained eternal life for himself by his obedience
unto God, — we are made partakers of the benefits thereof This is
the substance of his long disputation on this subject, De Servatore,
lib. iv. cap. 6. But this is not to expound the words of the apostle,
but expressly to contradict them, as we shall see in the ensuing con-
sideration of them.
I intend not an exposition of the whole discourse of the apostle,
but only of those passages in it which evidently declare the way and
manner of our justification before God.
A comparison is here proposed and pursued between the first
Adam, by whom sin was brought into the world, and the second
Adam, by whom it is taken away. And a comparison it is 1-a rou
imvriov, — of things contrary; wherein there is a similitude in some
things, and a dissimilitude in others, both sorts illustrating the truth
declared in it. The general proposition of it is contained in verse
] 2 : " As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ;
and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned." The en-
trance of sin and punishment into the world was by one man; and
that by one sin, as he afterward declares: yet were they not con-
fined unto the person of that one man, but belonged equally unto
all. This the apostle expresseth, inverting the order of the eftect and
cause. In the entrance of it he first mentions the cause or sin, and
then the effect or punishment : " By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin ; " but in the application of it unto all men,
he expresseth first the effect and then the cause : " Death passed on
all men, for that all have sinned." Death, on the first entrance of
sin, passed on all, — that is, all men became liable and obnoxious unto
it, as the punishment due to sin. All men that ever were, are, or
shall be, were not then existent in their own persons; but j'^et were
324 ON JUSTIFICATION.
they all of them tlien, upon the first entrance of sin, made subject
to death, or liable unto punishment. They were so by virtue of
divine constitution, upoTi their federal existence va. \he one man that
sinned. And actually they became obnoxious in their own persons
unto the sentence of it upon their first natural existence, being born
children of wrath.
It is hence manifest what sin it is that the apostle intends, —
namely, the actual sin of Adam, — the one sin of that one common
person, whilst he was so. For although the corruption and depra-
vation of our nature doth necessarily ensue thereon, in every one that
is brought forth actually to the world by natural generation ; yet is
it the p'uilt of Adam's actual sin alone that rendered them all ob-
noxious unto death upon the first entrance of sin into the world. So
death entered by sin, — the guilt of it, obnoxiousness unto it ; and that
with respect unto all men universally.
Death here compriseth the whole punishment due unto sin, be it
what it will, concerning which we need not here to dispute : " The
wages of sin is death," Rom. vi. 23, and nothing else. Whatever sin
deserves in the justice of God, whatever punishment God at any time
appointed or threatened unto it, it is comprised in death : " In the
da}^ thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death." This, therefore,
the apostle lays down as the foundation of his discourse, and of the
comparison which he intends, — namely, that in and by the actual sin
of Adam, all men are made liable unto death, or unto the whole
punishment due unto sin; that is, the guilt of that sin is imputed
unto them, For nothing is intended by the imputation of sin unto
any, but the rendering them justly obnoxious unto the punishment
due unto that sin ; as the not imputing of sin is the freeing of men
from being subject or liable unto punishment. And this sufficiently
evidenceth the vanity of the Pelagian gloss, that death passed upon
all merely by virtue of natural propagation from him who had de-
served it, without any imputation of the guilt of sin unto them;
which is a contradiction unto the plain words of the apostle. For it
is the guilt of sin, and not natural propagation, that he affirms to be
the cause of death.
Having mentioned sin and death, the one as the only cause of the
other, the guilt of sin of the punishment of death, — sin deserving
nothing but death, and death being due unto nothing but sin, — he
declares how all men iniiversally became liable unto this punishment,
or guilty of death : 'Ep' o5 m-avrsc -/i/j^aprov, — "In quo omnes peccaverunt,"
— " In whom all have sinned." For it relates unto the one man that
sinned, in whom all sinned: which is evident from the effect thereof,
inasmuch as "in him all died," 1 Cor. xv. 22; or, as it is here, on
his sin " death passed on all men." And this is the evident sense of
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 825
the words, Jt/ being put for h, which is not unusual in the Scripturd
See Matt. xv. 5; Rom. iv. 18, v. 2; Phil. i. 8; Heb. ix. 17. And it
is often so used by the best writers in the Greek tongue. So Hesiod,
Ms-pov 5' iTt iraaiv dpiarov, — " Modus in omnibus rebus optimus." So,
'Ep' vf/j7v hriv, — "Invobis situm est;"Touro e-r' sfMol xshai, — "Hoc in me
situm est." And this reading of the words is contended for by Austin
against the Pelagians, rejecting their " eo quod" or " propterea." But
I shall not contend about the reading of the words. It is the artifice
of our adversaries to persuade men, that the force of our argument to
prove from hence the imputation of the sin of Adam unto his pos-
terity, doth depend solely upon this interpretation of these words, s<p'
(fj, by " in whom." We shall, therefore, grant them their desire, that
they are better rendered by "eo quod," " propterea," or "quatenus,"
— " inasmuch," " because." Only, we must say that here is a reason
given why " death passed on all men," inasmuch as " all have sin-
ned,"— that is, in that sin whereby death entered into the world.
It is true, death, by virtue of the original constitution of the law,
is due unto every sin, whenever it is committed. But the present
inquiry is, how death passed at once on all men? how they came [to
be] liable and obnoxious unto it upon its first entrance by the actual
sin of Adam? — which cannot be by their own actual sin; yea, the
apostle, in the next verses, ajffirms that death passed on them also
who never sinned actually, or as Adam did, whose sin was actual.
And if the actual sins of men, in imitation of Adam's sin, were in-
tended, then should men be made liable to death before they had
sinned ; for death, upon its first entrance into the world, passed
on all men, before any one man had actually sinned but Adam
only. But that men should be liable unto death, which is nothing
but the punishment of sin, when they have not sinned, is an open
contradiction. For although God, by his sovereign power, might
inflict death on an innocent creature, yet that an innocent creature
should be guilty of death is impossible: for to be guilty of death, is
to have sinned. Wherefore this expression, " Inasmuch as all have
sinned," expressing the desert and guilt of death then when sin and
death first entered into the world, no sin can be intended in it but
the sin of Adam, and our interest therein: "Eramus enim omnes
ille unus homo;" and this can be no otherwise but by the imputa-
tion of the guilt of that sin unto us. For the act of Adam not being
ours inherently and subjectively, we cannot be concerned in its effect
but by the imputation of its guilt; for the communication of that
unto us which is not inherent in us, is that which we intend by im-
putation.
This is the 'zporaaig of the intended collation; which I have insisted
the longer on, because the apostle lays in it the foundation of all that
326 ON JUSTIFICATION.
he afterwards infers and asserts in the whole comparison. And here,
some say, there is an avavrarroharov in his discourse ; that is, he layeth
down the proposition on the part of Adam, but doth not show what
answereth to it on the contrary in Christ. And Origen gives the
reason of the silence of the apostle herein, — namely, lest what is to
be said therein should be abused by any unto sloth and negligence.
For whereas he says u^einp, " as " (which is a note of similitude) " by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ;" so the ccjro-
doeig, or reddition, should be, " so by one righteousness entered into
the world, and life by righteousness."
^ This he acknowledgeth to be the genuine filling up of the com-
parison, but was not expressed by the apostle, lest men should abuse
it unto negligence or security, supposing that to be done already which
should be done afterward. But as this plainly contradicts and everts
most of what he farther asserts in the exposition of the place, so the
apostle concealed not any truth upon such considerations. And as he
plainly expresseth that which is here intimated, verse 19, so he shows
how foohsh and wicked any such imaginations are, as suppose that
any countenance is given hereby unto any to indulge themselves in
their sins.
Some grant, therefore, that the apostle doth conceal the expres-
sion of what is ascribed unto Christ, in opposition unto what he had
affirmed of Adam and his sin, unto verse 19 ; but the truth is, it is
sufficiently included in the close of verse 14, where he affirms of
Adam that, in those things whereof he treats, he was "the figure of
him that was to come." For the way and manner whereby he intro-
duced righteousness and life, and communicated them unto men,
answered the vv^ay and manner whereby Adam introduced sin and
death, which passed on all the world. Adam being the figure of
Christ, look how it was with him, with respect unto his natural pos-
terity, as unto sin and death ; so it is with the Lord Christ, the
second Adam, and his spiritual posterity, with respect unto right-
eousness and life. Hence we argue, —
If the actual sin of Adam was so imputed unto all his posterity
as to he accounted their own sin unto condemnation, then is the
actual obedience of Christ, the second Adam, imputed unto all his
spiritual seed (that is, unto all believers) unto justification. I shall
not here farther press this argument, because the ground of it will
occur unto us afterward.
The two next verses, containing an objection and an answer
returned unto it, wherein we have no immediate concernment, I shall
pass by.
Verses 15, 16. The apostle proceeds to explain his comparison in
those things wherein there is a dissimilitude between the comparates: —
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 327
" But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the
offence of one many be dead; much more the grace of God, and the
gift by grace, by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."
The opposition is between nrapavTUiiMa on the one hand, and yaficij^ct,
on the other, — between which a dissimilitude is asserted, not as unto
their opi^osite effects of death and life, but only as unto the degrees of
their efficacy, with respect unto those effects. UapaTroj/ji^a, the offence,
the fall, the sin, the transgression, — that is, rou hhg irapaxon, " the diso-
bedience of one," verse 19. Hence the first sin of Adam is generally
called " the fall," — Th vapd'Trrufia. That which is opposed hereunto is
7-6 y^dpiGiia' — " Donum, donum gratuitum; beneficium, id quod Deus
gratificatur ;" that is, Xap/$ tou Qsov, xal dupsot, sv yapm rfj rov Ivhs
dvdpcJj'Trov 'Iriffou Xpidrov, as it is immediately explained, " The grace of
God, and the free gift by grace, through Jesus Christ." Wherefore,
although this word, in the next verse, doth precisely signify the
righteousness of Christ, yet here it comprehends all the causes of
our justification, in opposition unto the fall of Adam, and the entrance
of sin thereby.
The consequent and effect toD Tapa'^Tw/Marog, — " of the offence,"
the fall, — is, that " many be dead." No more is here intended by
" many," but only that the effects of that one offence were not con-
fined unto one ; and if we inquire who or how many those many
are, the apostle tells us that they are all men universally ; that is,
all the posterity of Adam. By this one offence, because they all
sinned, therein they are all dead ; that is, rendered obnoxious and
liable unto death, as the punishment due unto that one offence. And
hence also it appears how vain it is to wrest those words of verse 1 2,
" Inasmuch as all have sinned," unto any other sin but the first sin
in Adam, seeing it is given as the reason why death passed on
them ; it being here plainly affirmed " that they are dead," or that
death passed on them by that one offence.
The efficacy rou yapl0/j,aTog, — " of the free gift," — opposed hereunto,
is expressed, as that which abounded much more. Besides the thing
itself asserted, which is plain and evident, the apostle seems to me to
argue the equity of our justification by grace, through the obedience
of Christ, by comparing it with the condemnation that befell us by
the sin and disobedience of Adam. For if it were just, meet, and
equal, that all men should be made subject unto condemnation for
the sin of Adam; it is much more so, that those who believe should
be justified by the obedience of Christ, through the grace and free
donation of God. But wherein, in particular, the gift by grace
abounded unto many, above the efficacy of the fixll to condemn, he
declares afterward. And that whereby we are freed from condemna-
tion, more eminently than we are made obnoxious unto it by the fall
S28 ON JUSTIFICATION.
and sin of Adam, by that alone we are justified before God. But
this is by the grace of God, and the gift by grace, through Jesus
Christ alone; which we plead for, verse 16. Another difference
between the comparates is expressed, or rather the instance is given
in particular of the dissimilitude asserted in general before : —
" And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift : for the judg-
ment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many
offences unto justification."
A/' ivos a,u.oi,pT7]savrog, " By one that sinned," is the same with di'
svog 'TapaTTUfiarog, " by one sin," one offence, the one sin of that
man. KpTjj^a,, we render "judgment." Most interpreters do it by
" reatus," " guilt," or " crimen," which is derived from it. So ^3^P,
"judicium," is used in the Hebrew for guilt: ^^J] ^^^l niD-DS'^p^ jer.
xxvi. 11, " The judgment of death is to this man, this man is guilty
of death, hath deserved to die." First, therefore, there was <7rapd'X-
roii^a, the sin, the fall, roZ hog aixaprrieavrog, of one man that sinned;
it was his actual sin alone. Thence followed xpTiMu, " reatus,"
'^ guilt;" this was common unto all. In and by that one sin, guilt
came upon all. And the end hereof, that which it rendered men
obnoxious unto, is xaraxp//ia, — " condemnation," guilt unto condem-
nation. And this guilt unto condemnation which came upon all, was
i^ ivog, — of one person, or sin. This is the order of things on the part
of Adam: — (1.) Uapdirrufia, the one sin; (2.) KpT/j^a, the guilt that
thereon ensued unto all; (3.) Kardxpi/xa, the condemnation which
that guilt deserved. And their "antitheta," or opposites, in the second
Adam are: — (1.) xdpia/ia, the free donation of God; (2.) Auiprj/xa, the
gift of grace itself, or the righteousness of Christ; (3.) Aixalu/xa or
dixaiuffig Z^mi', "justification of life," But yet though the apostle
doth thus distinguish these things, to illustrate his comparison and
opposition, that which he intends by them all is the righteousness
and obedience of Christ, as he declares, verses 18, 19, This, in
the matter of our justification, he calleth, — (1.) xdpi(}/u,a, with respect
unto the free, gratuitous grant of it by the grace of God, Aojpsd, rng
•)(^dpiTog, and (2.) AiJiprifia, with respect unto us who receive it, — a
free gift it is unto us; and (3.) AixccioiiJ^a, with respect unto its effect
of making us righteous.
Whereas, therefore, by the sin of Adam imputed unto them, g-uilt
came on all men unto condemnation, we must inquire wherein the
free gift was otherwise: " Not as by one that sinned, so was the gift."
And it was so in two things: for, — 1. Condemnation came upon all by
one offence; but being under the guilt of that one offence, we con-
tract the guilt of many more innumerable. Wherefore, if the free
gift had respect only unto that one oftence, and intended itself no
farther, we could not be delivered; wherefore it is said to be " of many
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. S29
offences," — that is, of all our sins and trespasses whatever. 2. Adam,
and all his posterity in him, were in a state of acceptation with God,
and placed in a way of obtaining eternal life and blessedness, wherein
God himself would have been their reward. In this estate, by the
entrance of sin, they lost the favour of God, and incurred the guilt of
death or condemnation, for they are the same. But they lost not an
immediate right and title unto life and blessedness; for this they
had not, nor could have before the course of obedience prescribed
unto them was accomplished. That, therefore, which came upon all
by the one offence, was the loss of God's favour in the approbation of
their present state, and the judgment or guilt of death and condem-
nation. But an immediate right unto eternal life, by that one sin
was not lost. The free gift is not so: for as by it we are, freed, not
only from one sin, but from all our sins, so also by it we have a right
and title unto eternal life; for therein, "grace reigns through right-
eousness vmto eternal life," verse 21.
The same truth is farther explained and confirmed, verse 1 7, " For
if by one man's offeuce death reigned by one ; much more they which
receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall
reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." The design of the apostle having
been sufficiently manifested in our observations on the former verses,
I shall from this only observe those things which more immediately
concern our present subject. And, —
1. It is worth observatioij with what variety of expressions the
apostle sets forth the grace of God in the justification of believers:
A/xa/w/xa, hfjipriiMa, %«/"5, yafisiia, 'ffipiacnicc •)(apiTog, dupza ttj? dixaioevvi^g.
Nothing is omitted that may any way express the freedom, sufficiency,
and efficacy of grace unto that end. And although these terms seem
some of them to be coincident in their signification, and to be used
by him promiscuously, yet do they every one include something that is
peculiar, and all of tliem set forth the whole work of grace. A'xa/w/^a
seems to me to be used in this argument for dr/.aioX6y7i,u,a, which is
the foundation of a cause in trial, the matter pleaded, whereon the
person tried is to be acquitted and justified; and this is the right-
eousness of Christ, " of one." Au)pri/j,a, or a free donation, is exclusive
of all desert and conditions on our part who do receive it; and it is
that whereby we are freed from condemnation, and have a right unto
the justification of life, xdpig is the free grace and favour of God,
which is the original or efficient cause of our justification, as was de-
clared, chap. iii. 24. Xccpisfia, hath been explained before. Uipieesioc
y^dpirog, — " The abundance of grace," — is added to secure believers of
the certainty of the effect. It is that whereunto nothing is wanting
unto our justification. Awpsa rng bixatoeuvng expresseth the free grant
of that righteousness which is imputed unto us unto the justification
330 ON JUSTIFICATION.
of life, afterward called " tlie oLedience of Christ." Be men as wise
and learned as they please, it becomes us all to learn to think and
speak of these divine mysteries from this blessed apostle, who knew
them better than we all, and, besides, wrote by divine inspiration.
And it is marvellous unto me how men can break through the
fence that he hath made about the grace of God and obedience of
Christ, in the work of our justification before God, to introduce their
own works of obedience, and to find a place for them therein. But
the design of Paul and some men, in declaring this point of our jus-
tification before God, seems to be very opposite and contrary. His
whole discourse is concerning the grace of God, the death, blood, and
obedience of Christ, as if he could never sufficiently satisfy himself
in the setting out and declaration of them, without the least mention
of any works or duties of our own, or the least intimation of any use
that they are of herein. But all their pleas are for their o^vn Avorks
and duties ; and they have invented as many terms to set them out
by as the Holy Ghost hath used for the expression and declaration
of the gTace of God. Instead of the words of wisdom before men-
tioned, which the Holy Ghost hath taught, wherewith he fills up his
discourse, theirs are filled with conditions, preparatory dispositions,
merits, causes, and I know not what trappings for our own works.
For my part I shall choose rather to learn of him, and accommodate
my conceptions and expressions of gospel mysteries, and of this in
especial concerning our justification, unto his who cannot deceive me,
than trust to any other conduct, how specious soever its pretences
may be.
2. It is plain in this verse that no more is required of any one unto
justification, but that he receive the " abundance of grace and the gift
of righteousness;" for this is the description that the apostle gives
of those that are justified, as unto any thing that on their part is
required. And as this excludes all works of righteousness which we
do, — for by none of them do we receive the abundance of grace, and
the gift of righteousness, — so it doth also the imputation of faith itself
unto our justification, as it is an act and duty of our own: for faith is
that whereby we receive the gift of righteousness by which we are
justified. For it will not be denied but that we are justified by the
gift of righteousness, or the righteousness which is given unto us ; for
by it have we right and title unto life. But our faith is not this
gift ; for that which receiveth, and that which is received, are not the
same.
3. Where there is 'Trspigasla ^dpirog, and %af/j vrnp'Trspiffffiuousa, —
"abounding grace," "superabounding grace," — exerted in our justifica-
tion, no more is required thereunto; for how can it be said to abound,
yea, to superabound, not only to the freeing of us from condemnation,
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 331
but the giving of us a title unto life, if in any thing it is to be sup-
plied and eked out by Avorks and duties of our own? The things
intended do fill up these expressions, although to some they are but
an empty noise.
4. There is a gift of righteousness required unto our justification,
which all must receive who are to be justified, and all are justified
who do receive it ; for they that receive it shall " reign in life by Jesus
Christ." And hence it follows, — (1.) That the righteousness whereby
we are justified before God can be nothing of our own, nothing in-
herent in us, nothing performed by us. For it is that which is freely
given us, and this donation is by imputation : " Blessed is the man
unto whom God imputeth righteousness," chap. iv. 6. And by faith
we receive what is so given and imputed ; and otherwise we con-
tribute nothing unto our participation of it. This it is to be justified
in the sense of the apostle. (2.) It is such a righteousness as gives
right and title unto eternal hfe; for they that receive it shall " reign
in life." Wherefore, it cannot consist in the pardon of sin alone;
for, — [L] The pardon of sin can in no tolerable sense be called " the
gift of righteousness." Pardon of sin is one thing, and righteousness
another. [2.] Pardon of sin doth not give right and title unto eternal
life. It is true, he whose sins are pardoned shall inherit eternal life ;
but not merely by virtue of that pardon, but through the imputation
of righteousness which doth inseparably accompany it, and is the
ground of it.
The description which is here given of our justification by grace,
in opposition unto the condemnation that we were made liable unto
by the sin of Adam, and in exaltation above it, as to the efficacy of
gTace above that of the first sin, in that thereby not one but all sins
are forgiven, and not only so, but a right unto life eternal is com-
municated unto us, is this : " That we receive the grace of God, and
the gift of righteousness ;" which gives us a right unto life by Jesus
Christ. But this is to be justified by the imputation of the righte-
ousness of Christ, received by faith alone.
The conclusion of what hath been evinced, in the management of
the comparison insisted on, is fully expressed and farther confinned,
chap. V. 18, 19.
Verse 18. "Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came
upon all men unto condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." So we
read the words. "By the offence of one:" the Greek copies vary
here. Some read, Tw hi -raparrru/ji^art, whom Beza followeth, and our
translation in the margin, — " By one offence;" most by A/' ivhg
Ta^aT-w/Aaroj, — " By the offence of one ;" and so afterward as unto
righteousness : but both are unto the same pui-pose. For the one
332 ON JUSTIFICATION.
offence intended is the offence of one, — that is, of Adam; and the
one righteousness is the righteousness of one, — Jesus Christ.
The introduction of this assertion by apa oZv, the note of a syllo-
gistical inference, declares what is here asserted to be the substance
of the truth pleaded for. And the comparison is continued, ug, — these
things have themselves after the same manner.
That which is affirmed on the one side is. A/' hog -^ra^a-rrw/iaros ilg
'ffdvra.g andpuiTODg sig xara?c^//Aa, — " By the sin or fall of one, on all
men unto condemnation," — that is, judgment, say we, repeating
Kpi/xa from the foregoing verse. But x^J/xa sig jcara'/cpz/^ta is guilt, and
that onl}^ By the sin of one, all men became guilty, and were made
obnoxious unto condemnation. The guilt of it is imputed unto all
men ; for no otherwise can it come upon them unto condemnation,
no otherwise can they be rendered obnoxious unto death and judg-
ment on the account thereof. For we have evinced, that by death
and condemnation, in this disputation of the apostle, the whole
punishment due unto sin is intended. This, therefore, is plain and
evident on that hand.
In answer hereunto, the dmociu/j^a of one, as to the causality of
justification, is opposed unto the Tapa-rrw/ia of the other, as unto its
causality unto or of condemnation: A/' svhg ^/xa/w^aros, — "By the right-
eousness of one:" that is, the righteousness that is pleadable ilg
diKuiuffiv, unto justification; for that is di/ialu/Aa, a righteousness
pleaded for justification. By this, say our translators, " the free gift
came upon all," repeating ^dpiff'Ma from the foregoing verse, as they
had done xp/Jxa before on the other hand. The Syriac translation
renders the words without the aid of any supplement: " Therefore,
as by the sin of one, condemnation was unto all men, so by the right-
eousness of one, justification vmto life shall be unto all men;" and
the sense of the words is so made plain without the supply of any
other word into the text. But whereas in the original the words are
not xardzpifji^a sig 'zdvTag dvdp(^'7rovg, but sig '^ravrag dvdpu-rovg sig xard-
7ipi/j,a, and so in the latter clause, somewhat from his own foregoing
words, is to be supplied to answer the intention of the apostle. And
this is ^dpiff/j^a, " gratiosa donatio," " the free grant" of righteous-
ness; or ddjprj/Ma, "the free gift" of righteousness unto justification.
The righteousness of one, Christ Jesus, is freely granted unto all be-
lievers, to the justification of life; for the " all men" here mentioned
are described by, and limited unto, them that " receive the abundance
of grace, and the gift of righteousness by Christ," verse 17.
Some vainly pretend from hence a general grant of righteousness
and life unto all men, whereof the greatest part are never made par-
takers; than which nothing can be more opposite nor contradictory
unto the apostle's design. Men are not made guilty of condemnation
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 333
from the sin of Adam, by such a divine constitution, as that they may,
or on some conditions may not, be obnoxious thereunto. Every one,
so soon as he actually exists, and by virtue thereof is a descendant
from the first Adam, is actually in his own person liable thereunto,
and the wrath of God abideth on him. And no more are intended
on the other side, but those only who, by their relation through faith
unto the Lord Christ, the second Adam, are actually interested in the
justification of life. Neither is the controversy about the universality
of redemption by the death of Christ herein concerned. For those
by whom it is asserted do not affirm that it is thence necessary that
the free gift unto the justification of life should come on all ; for that
they know it doth not do. And of a provision of righteousness and
life for men in case they do believe, although it be true, yet nothing
is spoken in this place. Only the certain justification of them that
believe, and the way of it, are declared. Nor will the analogy of the
comparison here insisted on admit of any such interpretation ; for
the " all," on the one hand, are all and only those who derive their
being from Adam by natural propagation. If any man might be
supjiosed not to do so, he would not be concerned in his sin or fall.
And so really it was with the man Christ Jesus. And those on the
other hand, are only those who derive a spiritual life from Christ.
Suppose a man not to do so, and he is no way interested in the righ-
teousness of the " one " unto the justification of life. Our argument
from the words is this: — As the sin of one that came on all unto con-
demnation, tuas the sin of the first Ada'm imputed unto them; so
the righteousness of the one unto the justification of life that comes
on all believers, is the righteousness of Christ imputed unto them.
And what can be more clearly affirmed or more evidently confirmed
than this is by the apostle, I know not.
Yet is it more plainly expressed, verse 19: " For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous."
This is well explamed by Cyrillus Alexandrinus in Joan. lib. xi.
cap. 25 : " Quemadmodum praevaricatione primi hominis ut in primi-
tiis generis nostri, morti addicti fuimus; eodem mode per obedien-
tiam et justitiam Christi, in quantum seipsum legi subjecit, quamvis
legis author esset, benedictio et vivificatio quoe per Spiritum est, ad
totam nostram penetravit naturam." And by Leo, Epist. xii. ad Ju-
venalem : " Ut autem reparet omnium vitam, recepit omnium cau-
sam; ut sicut per unius reatum omnes facti fuerunt peccatores, ita
per unius innocentiam omnes fiereut innocentes; inde in homines
manaret justitia, ubi est humana suscepta natura."
That which he before called vapd'Trru/Ma and dixatu/xa he now ex-
presseth by 'xapaxo^ and i/Taxo;?, — "disobedience" and "obedience."
334 ON JUSTIFICATION.
The 'ira.paMi] of Adam, or his disobedience, was his actual transgression
of the law of God. Hereby, saith the apostle, " many were made
sinners," — sinners in such a sense as to be obnoxious unto death and
condemnation; for liable unto death they could not be made, unless
they were first made sinners or guilty. And this they could not be,
but that they are esteemed to have sinned in him, whereon the guilt
of his sin was imputed unto them. This, therefore, he affirms, —
namely, that the actual sin of Adam was so the sin of all men, as
that they were made sinners thereby, obnoxious unto death and con-
demnation.
That which he opposeth hereunto is jJ bi-aao/i, — " the obedience of
one ; " that is, of Jesus Christ. And this was the actual obedience
that he yielded unto the whole law of God. For as the disobedience
of Adam was his actual transgression of the whole law, so the obe-
dience of Christ was his actual accomplishment or fulfilling of the
whole law. This the antithesis doth require.
Hereby many are made righteous. How? By the imputation of
that obedience imto them. For so, and no otherwise, are men made
sinners by the imputation of the disobedience of Adam. And this is
that which gives us a right and title unto eternal life, as the apostle de-
clares, verse 21, "That as sin reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life." This righteousness is no
other but the " obedience of one," — that is, of Christ, — as it is called,
verse 19. And it is said to " come" upon us, — that is, to be imputed
unto us; for " Blessed is the man unto whom God imputeth righteous-
ness." And hereby we have not only deliverance from that death and
condemnation whereunto we were liable by the sin of Adam, but the
pardon of many offences, — that is, of all our personal sins, — and a right
unto life eternal through the grace of God; for we are "justified freely
by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
And these things are thus plainly and fully delivered by the apostle;
unto whose sense and expressions also (so far as may be) it is our duty
to accommodate ours. What is offered in opposition hereunto is so
made up of exceptions, evasions, and perplexed disputes, and leadeth
us so far off from the plain words of the Scripture, that the conscience
of a convinced sinner knows not what to fix upon to give it rest and
satisfaction, nor what it is that is to be believed unto justification.
Piscator, in his scholia on this chapter and elsewhere, insisteth
much on a specious argument against the imputation of the obedi-
ence of Christ unto our justification; but it proceedeth evidently on
an open mistake and false supposition, as well as it is contradictory
unto the plain words of the text. It is true, which he observes and
proves, that our redemption, reconciliation, pardon of sin, and justifi-
cation, are often ascribed unto the death and blood of Christ in a sig-
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 335
nsl manner. The reasons of it have partly been intimated before ;
and a farther account of them shall be given immediately. But it
doth not thence follow that the obedience of his life, wherein he ful-
filled the whole law, being made under it for us, is excluded from any
causality therein, or is not imputed unto us. But in opposition
hereunto he thus argueth : —
" Si obedientia vitse Christi nobis ad justitiam imputaretur, non
fuit opus Christum pro nobis mori ; mori enim necesse fuit pro nobis
injustis," 1 Pet. iii. 18. " Quod si ergo justi effect! sumus per vitam
illius, causa nulla relicta fuit cur pro nobis moreretur ; quia justitia
Dei non patitur ut puniat justos. At punivit nos in Christo, seu
quod idem valet punivit Christum pro nobis, et loco nostri, postea-
(juam ille sancte vixisset, ut certum est e Scriptura. Ergo non sumus
justi effect! per sanctam vitam Christi. Item, Christus mortuus est
ut justitiam illam Dei nobis acquireret," 2 Cor. v. 21. " Non igitur
illam acquisiverat ante mortem."
But this whole argument, I say, proceeds upon an evident mis-
take; for it supposeth such an order of things as that the obedience
of Christ, or his righteousness in fulfilling the law, is first imputed
unto us, and then the righteousness of his death is afterward to take
place, or to be imputed unto us ; which, on that supposition, he says,
would be of no use. But no such order or divine constitution is
pleaded or pretended in our justification. It is true, the life of Christ
and liis obedience unto the law did precede his sufferings, and under-
going the curse thereof, — neither could it otherwise be, for this order
of these things between themselves was made necessary from the law
of nature, — but it doth not thence follow that it must be observed in
the imputation or application of them unto us. For this is an effect
of sovereign wisdom and grace, not respecting the natural order of
Christ's obedience and suffering, but the moral order of the things
whereunto they are appointed. And although we need not assert,
nor do I so do, different acts of the imputation of the obedience of
Christ unto the justification of life, or a right and title unto life eter-
nal, and of the suffering of Christ unto the pardon of our sins and
freedom from condemnation, — but by both we have both, according
unto the ordinance of God, that Christ may be all in all, — yet as unto
the effects themselves, in the method of God's bringing sinners unto
the justification of life, the application of the death of Christ unto
them, unto the pardon of sin and freedom from condemnation, is, in
order of nature, and in the exercise of faith, antecedent unto the
application of his obedience unto us for a right and title unto life
eternal.
The state of the person to be justified is a state of sin and wrath,
wliercin he is liable unto death and condemnation. This is that
S3 6 ON JUSTIFICATION.
which a convinced sinner is sensible of, and which alone, in the first
place, he seeks for deliverance from : " What shall we do to be saved ?"
This, in the first place, is represented unto him in the doctrine and
promise of the gospel ; which is the rule and instrument of its appli-
cation. And this is [by] the death of Christ. Without this no
actual righteousness imputed unto him, not the obedience of Christ
himself, will give him relief; for he is sensible that he hath sinned,
and thereby come short of the glory of God, and under the sentence
condemnatory of the law. Until he receives a deliverance from
hence, it is to no purpose to propose that unto him which should give
him right unto life eternal. But upon a supposition hereof, he is no
less concerned in what shall yet farther give him title thereunto, that
he may reign in life through righteousness. Herein, I say, in its
order, conscience is no less concerned than in deliverance from con-
demnation. And this order is expressed in the declaration of the
fruit and effects of the mediation of Christ, Dan. ix. 24, " To make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness."
Neither is there any force in the objection against it, that actually
the obedience of Christ did precede his suffering: for the method of
their application is not prescribed thereby ; and the state of sinners
to be justified, with the nature of their justification, requires it should
be otherwise, as God also hath ordained. But because the obedi-
ence and sufferings of Christ were concomitant from first to last, both
equally belonging unto his state of exinanition, and cannot in any
act or instance be separated, but only in notion or imagination, see-
ing he suffered in all his obedience and obeyed in all his sufferings,
Heb. v. 8 ; and neither part of our justification, in freedom firom con-
demnation and right unto life eternal, can be supposed to be or exist
Avithout the other, according unto the ordinance and constitution of
God; the whole effect is jointly to be ascribed unto the whole media-
tion of Christ, so far as he acted towards God in our behalf, wherein
he fulfilled the whole law, both as to the penalty exacted of sinners
and the righteousness it requires unto life as an eternal reward. And
there are many reasons why our justification is, in the Scripture, by
way of eminency, ascribed unto the death and blood-shedding of
Christ
For, — 1. The grace and love of God, the principal, efficient cause of
our justification, are therein made most eminent and conspicuous ;
for this is most frequently in the Scripture proposed unto us as the
highest instance and undeniable demonstration of divine love and
grace. And this is that which principally we are to consider in our
justification, the glory of them being the end of God therein. He
" made us accepted in the Beloved, to the praise of the glory of his
grace/' Eph. i. 6. Wherefore, this being the fountain, spring, and
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 837
sole cause, both of tlie obedience of Clii'ist and of the miputation
thereof unto us, with the pardon of sin and righteousness thereby, it
is everywhere in the Scripture proposed as the prime object of our
faitli in our justification, and opposed directly unto all our own works
whatever. The whole of God's design herein is, that " gi^ace may
reign through righteousness unto eternal life.'" Whereas, therefore,
this is made most evident and conspicuous in the death of Christ,
our justification is in a peculiar manner assigned thereunto.
2. The love of Christ himself and his grace are peculiarly exalted
in our justification : " That all men may honour the Son even as
they honour the Father." Frequently are they expressed unto this
purpose, 2 Cor. viii. 9 ; Gal. ii. 20 ; Phil. ii. 6, 7 ; Rev. i. 5, 6. And
those also are most eminently exalted in his death, so as that all the
effects and fruits of them are ascribed thereunto in a peculiar manner ;
as nothing is more ordinary than, among many things that concur
to the same effect, to ascribe it unto that which is most eminent
among them, especially if it cannot be conceived as separated from
the rest.
o. This is the clearest testimony that what the Lord Christ did
and suffered was for us, and not for himself ; for without the consi-
deration hereof, all the obedience which he yielded unto the law
might be looked on as due only on his own account, and himself to
have been such a Saviour as the Socinians imagine, who should do
all with us from God, and nothing with God for us. But the suffer-
ing of the curse of the law by him who was not only an innocent
man, but also the Son of God, openly testifies that Avhat he did and
suffered was for us, and not for himself It is no wonder, therefore,
if our faith as unto justification be in the first place, and principally,
directed unto his death and blood-shedding.
4. All the obedience of Christ had still respect unto the sacrifice
of himself which was to ensue, wherein it received its accomplish-
ment, and whereon its efiicacy unto our justification did depend : for
as no imputation of actual obedience would justify sinners from the
condemnation that was passed on them for the sin of Adam ; so,
although the obedience of Christ was not a mere preparation or
qualification of his person for his suffering, yet its efiicacy unto our
justification did depend on his suffering that was to ensue, when
his soul was made an offering for sin.
5. As was before observed, reconciliation and the pardon of sin
through the blood of Christ do directly, in the first place, respect our
relief from the state and condition whereinto we were cast by the sin
of Adam, — in the loss of the favour of God, and liableness unto
death. This, therefore, is that which principally, and in the first
place, a lost convinced sinner, such as Christ calls unto himself, doth
VOL. V. 22
838 ON JUSTIFICATION.
look after. And therefore justification is eminently and frequently
proposed as the effect of the blood-shedding and death of Christ,
which are the dnect cause of our reconciliation and pardon of sin.
But yet from none of these considerations doth it follow that the
obedience of the one man, Christ Jesus, is not imputed unto us,
whereby grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life.
The same truth is fully asserted and confirmed, Rom. viii. 1-4.
But this place hath been of late so explained and so vindicated by
another, in his learned and judicious exposition of it (namety, Dr
Jacomb), as that nothing remains of weight to be added unto what
hath been pleaded and argued by him, part i. verse 4, p. 587, and
onwards. And indeed the answers which he subjoins (to the argii-
ments whereby lie confirms the truth) to the most usual and impor-
tant objections against the imputation of the righteousness of Christ,
are sufficient to give just satisfaction unto the minds of unpreju-
diced, unengaged persons. I shall therefore pass over tliis testi-
mony, as that which hath been so lately pleaded and vindicated, and
not press the same things, it may be (as is not unusual) unto their
disadvantage.
Rom. X. 3, 4. " For they" (the Jews, who had a zeal for God, but
not according to knowledge), " being ignorant of God's righteous-
ness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness unto eveiy one that
believeth."
What is here determined, the apostle enters upon the proposition
and declaration of, chap. ix. 30. And because what he had to pro-
pose was somewhat strange, and imsuited unto the common appre-
hensions of men, he introduceth it with that prefatory interrogation,
T/ ouv epo\J/j,sv; (which he usetli on the like occasions, chap. iii. 5, vi. 1,
vii. 7, ix. 14) — " What shall we say then V that i.s, " Is there in this
matter 'unrighteousness with God?'" as verse 14; or, " What shall Ave
say unto these things ?" or, " This is that wliich is to be said herein."
That which hereon he asserts is, " That the Gentiles, which followed
not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the right-
eousness which is of faith ; but Israel, which followed after the law
of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness;" that
is, unto righteousness itself before God.
Nothing seems to be more contrary unto reason than what is here
made manifest by the event. The Gentiles, who lived in sin and
pleasures, not once endeavouring to attain unto any righteousness
before God, yet attained unto it upon the preaching of the gospel.
Israel, on the other hand, which followed after righteousness diligently
in all the works of the law, and duties of obedience unto God thereby,
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 339
came short of it, attained not unto it. All preparations, all disposi-
tions, all merit, as unto righteousness and justification, are excluded
from the Gentiles ; for in all of them there is more or less a following
after righteousness, which is denied of them all. Only by faith in
him who justifieth the ungodly, they attain righteousness, or they
attained the righteousness of faith. For to attain righteousness by
faith, and to attain the righteousness which is of faith, are the same.
Wherefore, all things that are comprised any way in following after
righteousness, such as are all our duties and works, are excluded from
any influence into our justification. And this is expressed to declare
the sovereignty and freedom of the grace of God herein, — namely,
that we are justified freely by his grace, — and that on our part all
boasting is excluded. Let men pretend what they will, and dispute
what they please, those who attain unto righteousness and justifica-
tion before God, when they follow not after righteousness, they do it
by the gratuitous imputation of the righteousness of another unto
them.
It may be it will be said : " It is true in the time of their heathenism
they did not at all follow after righteousness, but when the truth of
the gospel was revealed unto them, then they followed after right-
eousness, and did attain it." But, — 1. This is directly to contradict
the apostle, in that it says that they attained not righteousness but
only as they followed after righteousness; whereas he affirms the
dhect contrary. 2. It takes away the distinction which he puts be-
tween them and Israel, — namely, that the one followed after right-
eousness, and the other did not. 3. To follow after righteousness, in
this place, is to follow after a righteousness of our own : " To establish
their own righteousness," chap. x. 3. But this is so far from being a
means of attaining righteousness, as that it is the most effectual ob-
struction thereof
If, therefore, those who have no righteousness of their own, who
are so far from it that they never endeavoured to attain it, do j^et by
faith receive that righteousness wherewith they are justified before
God, they do so by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto
them; or let some other way be assigned.
In the other side of the instance, concerning Israel, some must hear,
whether they will or not, that wherewith they are not pleased.
Three things are expressed of them: — 1, Their attempt. 2. Their
success. 3. The reason of it.
1. Their attempt or endeavour was in this, that they "followed
after the law of righteousness." A/wxw, the word whereby their endea-
vour is expressed, signifies that which is earnest, diligent, and sincere.
By it doth the apostle declare what his [endeavour] was, and what
ours ought to be, in the duties and exercise of gospel obedience^ Phil.
340 ox JUSTIFICATION.
iii. 1 2. They were not indiligent in this matter, but " instantly
served God day and night." Nor were they hypocritical; for the
apostle bears them record in this matter, that " they had a zeal of
God," Rom. X. 2. And that which they thus endeavoured after was
vdlioq hi7iaio6\iv7ic, — ■"■ the law of righteousness," that law which pre-
scribed a perfect personal righteousness before God ; " the things
which if a man do them, he shall live in them," chap. x. 5. Where-
fore, the apostle hath no other respect unto the ceremonial law in
this place but only as it was branched out from the moral law by
the will of God, and as the obedience unto it belonged thereunto.
AVhen he speaks of it separately, he calls it " the law of command-
ments contained in ordinances;" but it is nowhere called "the law of
righteousness," the law whose righteousness is fulfilled in us, chap,
viii. 4. Wherefore, the following after this law of righteousness was
their diligence in the performance of all duties of obedience, accord-
ing unto the directions and precepts of the moral law.
2. The issue of this attempt is, that they " attained not unto the
law of righteousness," th voijjov bixaioffuv/jg ovx s'p^affs, — that is, they at-
tained not unto a righteousness before God hereby. Though this
was the end of the law, namely, a righteousness before God, Avherein
a man might live, yet could they never attain it
3. An account is given of the reason of their failing in attaining
that which they so earnestly endeavoured after. And this was in a
double mistake that they were under; — first. In the means of attain-
ing it; secondly. In the righteousness itself that was to be sought
after. T\iq first is declared, chap. ix. 32, " Because not by faith, but
as it were by the works of the law." Faith and works are the two only
ways whereby righteousness may be attained, and they are opposite
and inconsistent; so that none doth or can seek after righteousness
by them both. They will not be mixed and made one entire means
of attaining righteousness. They are opposed as grace and works;
what is of the one is not of the other, chap. xi. 6. Every composi-
tion of them in this matter is, " Male sarta gratia nequicquam coit et
rescinditur." And the reason is, because the righteousness which
faith seeks after, or which is attainable l)y faith, is that which is
given to us, imputed unto us, which faith doth only receive. It re-
ceives " the abundance of grace, and the gift of righteousness." But
that which is attainable by works is our own, inherent in us, wrought
out by us, and not imputed unto us; for it is nothing but those
works themselves, with respect unto the law of God.
And if righteousness before God be to be obtained alone by faith,
and that in contradiction unto all works,— which if a man do them,
according unto the law, " he shall even live in them," — then is it by
faith alone that we are justified before God, or, nothing else on our
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 341
part is required thereunto. And of what nature this righteousness
must be is evident.
Again : if faith and works are opposed as contrary and inconsistent,
when considered as the means of attaining righteousness or justifica-
tion before God, as plainly they are, then is it impossible we should be
justified before God by them in the same sense, way, and manner.
Wherefore, when the apostle James affirms that a man is justified by
works, and not by faith only, he cannot intend our justification be-
fore God, where it is impossible they should both concur; for not
only are they declared inconsistent by the apostle in this place, but
it would introduce several sorts of righteousness into justification,
that are inconsistent and destructive of each other. This was the
first mistake of the Jews, whence this miscarriage ensued, — they
sought not after righteousness by faith, but as it were by the works
of the law.
Their second mistake was as unto the righteousness itself whereon
a man might be justified before God; for this they judged was to be
their own righteousness, chap. x. 8. Their own personal righteous-
ness, consisting in their own duties of obedience, they looked on as
the only righteousness whereon they might be justified before God.
This, therefore, they went about to establish, as the Pharisee did,
Luke xviii. 11, 12: and this mistake, with their design thereon, " to
establish their own righteousness," was the principal cause that made
them reject the righteousness of God; as it is with many at this day.
Whatever is done in us, or performed by us, as obedience unto
God, is our oivn righteousness. Though it be done in faith, and by
the aids of God's grace, yet is it subjectively ours, and, so far as it is
a righteousness, it is our own. But all righteousness whatever, which
is our own, is so far diverse from the righteousness by which we
are to be justified before God, as that the most earnest endeavour to
establish it, — that is, to render it such as by which we may be justi-
fied,— is an eftectual means to cause us to refuse a submission unto,
and an acceptance of, that whereby alone we may be so.
This ruined the Jews, and will be the ruin of all that shall follow
their example in seeking after justification ; 3'et is it not easy for men
to take any other way, or to be taken off from this. So the apostle
intimates in that expression, " They submitted not themselves unto
the righteousness of God." This righteousness of God is of that na-
ture that the proud mind of man is altogether unwilling to bow and
submit itself unto; yet can it no otherwise be attained, but by such
a submission or subjection of mind as contains in it a total renuncia-
tion of any righteousness of our own. And those who reproach others
for affirming that men endeavouring after morality, or moral right-
eousness, and resting therein, are in no good way for the participa-
342 ON JUSTIFICATION.
tion of the gi'ace of God by Jesus Christ, do expressly deride the
dpctrine of the apostle; that is, of the Holy Ghost himself.
Wherefore, the plain design of the apostle is, to declare that not
only faith and the righteousness of it, and a righteousness of our own
by works, are inconsistent, that is, as unto our justification before God ;
but also, that the intermixture of our own works, in seeking after
righteousness, as the means thereof, doth wholly divert us from the
acceptance of or submission unto the righteousness of God. For the
righteousness which is of faith is not our own ; it is the righteousness
of God, — that which he imputes unto us. But the righteousness of
works is our own, — that which is wrought in us and by us. And as
works have no aptitude nor meetness in themselves to attain or re-
ceive a righteousness which, because it is not our own, is imputed
unto us, but are repugnant unto it, as that which will cast them down
from their legal dignity of being our righteousness ; so faith hath no
aptitude nor meetness in itself to be an inherent righteousness, or so
to be esteemed, or as such to be imputed unto us, seeing its princi-
pal faculty and efficacy consist in fixing all the trust, confidence, and
expectation of the soul, for righteousness and acceptation with God,
upon another.
Here was the ruin of those Jews : they judged it a better, a more
probable, yea, a more righteous and holy way for them, constantly
to endeavour after a righteousness of their own, by duties of obedience
unto the law of God, than to imagine that they could come to accept-
ance with God ])y faith in another. For tell them, and such as they,
what you please, if they have not a righteousness of their own, that
they can set upon its legs, and make to stand before God, the law
will not have its accomplishment, and so will condemn them.
To demolish this last sort of unbelief, the apostle grants that the
law nmst have its end, and be completely fulfilled, or there is no ap-
pearing for us as righteous before God ; and withal shows them how
this is done, and where alone it is to be sought after : for " Christ/'
saith he, " is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth," Rom. x. 4. We need not trouble ourselves to inquire in
what various senses Christ may be said to be rsXog vo/mov, — " the end,"
the complement, the perfection, " of the law." The apostle suffi-
ciently detennineth his intention, in afiirming not absolutely that he
is the end of the law, but he is so s/s oixaioeuvriv, " for righteoiisness,"
unto every one that believeth. The matter in question is a right-
eousness unto justification before God. And this is acknowledged to
be the righteousness which the law requires. God looks for no right-
eousness from us but what is prescribed in the law. The law is no-
thing but the rule of righteousness, — God's prescription of a righteous-
ness, and all the duties of it, unto us. That we should be righteous
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 343
lierewitli before God was the first, original end of the law. Its other
ends at present, of the conviction of sin, and judging or condemning
for it, were accidental unto its primitive constitution. This right-
eousness which the law requires, which is all and only that right-
eousness which God requires of us, the accomplishment of this end
of the law, the Jews sought after by their own ijersonal performance
of the works and duties of it. But hereby, in the utmost of their
endeavoui's, they could never fulfil this righteousness, nor attain this
end of the law ; which yet if men do not they must perish for ever.
Wherefore, the apostle declares, that all this is done another way ;
that the righteousness of the law is fulfilled, and its end, as unto a
rigliteousness before God, attained ; and that is in and by Christ. For
what the law required, that he accomplished ; which is accounted unto
every one that beheves.
Herein the apostle issueth the whole disquisition about a righteous-
ness wherewith we may be justified before God, and, in particular, how
satisfaction is given unto the demands of the law. That which we
could not do, — that which the law could not effect in us, in that it was
weak through the flesh, — that which we could not attain by the works
and duties of it, — that Clnist hath done for us; and so is " the end of
the law for righteousness unto every one that believeth."
The law demand eth a righteousness of us; the accomplishment of
this righteousness is' the end which it aims at, and which is necessary
unto our justification before God. This is not to be attained by any
works of our own, by any righteousness of our own. But the Lord
Christ is this for us, and unto us ; which, how he is or can be but by
the imputation of his obedience and righteousness in the accomplish-
ment of the law, I cannot understand ; I am sure the apostle doth
not declare.
The way whereby we attain unto this end of the law, which we
cannot do by our utmost endeavours to establish our own righteous-
ness, is hy faith alone, for " Christ is the end of the law for righteous-
ness unto every one that believeth." To mix any thing with faith
herein, as it is repugnant unto the nature of faith and works, with
respect unto their aptitude and meetness for the attaining of a righte-
ousness, so it is as directly contradictory unto the express design and
words of the apostle as any thing that can be invented.
Let men please themselves with their distinctions, which I under-
stand not (and yet, perha];)S, should be ashamed to say so, but that I
am persuaded they understand them not themselves by whom they
are used), or with cavils, objections, feigned consequences, which I
value not ; here I shall for ever desire to fix my soul, and herein to
acquiesce, — namely, that " Christ is the end of the law for righteous-
ness to eveiy one that doth believe." And I do suppose, that all
344 ON JUSTIFICATION.
they who understand aright what it is that the law of God doth re-
quire of them, how needful it is that it be complied withal, and that
the end of it be accomplished, with the utter insufficiency of their own
endeavours unto those ends, will, at least when the time of disputing
is over, betake themselves unto the same refuge and rest.
The next place I shall consider in the epistles of this apostle is, —
1 Cor. i. SO. " But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and re-
demption."
The design of the apostle in these words is to manifest, that what-
ever is wanting unto us on any account that we may please God, live
unto him, and come to the enjoyment of him, that we have in and
by Jesus Christ; and this on the part of God from mere free and
sovereign grace, as verses 26-29 do declare. And we have all these
things by virtue of our insition or implantation in him : s^ au-ov, —
" from," "of," or " by him." He by his grace is the principal, efficient
cause hereof. And the effect is, that we are " in Christ Jesus," — that
is, ingrafted in him, or united unto him, as members of his mystical
body ; which is the constant sense of that expression in the Scripture.
And the benefits which we receive hereby are enumerated in the fol-
lowing words. But, first, the way whereby we are made partakers of
them, or they are communicated unto us, is declared : " Who of God
is made unto us." It is so ordained of God, that he himself shall be
made or become all this unto us : "0$ eysr/jdri tj/j^Tv d'Tro ©soD, where
aero denotes the efficient cause, as s^ did before. But how is Christ
thus made unto us of God, or what act of God is it that is intended
thereby? Socinus says it is " a general act of the providence of God,
whence it is come to pass, or is so fallen out, that one way or other
the Lord Christ should be said to be all this unto us." But it is an
especial ordinance and institution of God's sovereign grace and wis-
dom, designing Christ to be all this unto us and for us, with actual
imputation thereon, and nothing else, that is intended. Whatever
interest, therefore, we have in Christ, and whatever benefit we have
by him, it all depends on the sovereign grace and constitution of God,
and not on any thing in ourselves. Whereas, then, we have no righte-
ousness of our own, he is appointed of God to be our " righteousness,"
and is made so unto us: which can be no otherwise, but that his
righteousness is made ours ; for he is made it unto us (as he is like-
wise the other things mentioned) so as that all boasting, that is in
ourselves, should be utterly excluded, and that "he that glorieth should
glory in the Lord," verses 29-3L Now, there is such a righteousness,
or such a way of being righteous, whereon we may have somewhat to
glory, Rom. iv. 2, and which doth not exclude boasting, chap. iii. 27.
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 345
And this cannot possibly be but when our righteousness is inherent
in us ; for that, however it may be procured, or purchased, or
wrought in us, is yet our own, so far as any thing can be our own
whilst we are creatures. This kind of righteousness, therefore, is here
excluded. And the Lord Christ being so made righteousness unto us
of God as that all boasting and glorying on our part, or in ourselves,
may be excluded, — yea, being made so for this very end, that so it
should be, — it can be no otherwise but by the imputation of his right-
eousness unto us; for thereby is the grace of God, the honour of his
person and mediation exalted, and all occasion of glorying in ourselves
utterly prescinded. We desire no more from this testimony, but that
whereas we are in ourselves destitute of all righteousness in the sight
of God, Christ is, by a gracious act of divine imputation, made of God
righteousness unto us, in such a way as that all our glorying ought
to be in the grace of God, and the righteousness of Christ himself.
Bellarmine attempts three answers unto this testimony, the two first
whereof are coincident ; and, in the third, being on the rack of light
and truth, he confesseth, and grants all that we plead for. 1. He
says, " That Christ is said to be our righteousness, because he is the
efficient cause of it, as God is said to be our strength ; and so there
is in the words a metonymy of the effect for the cause." And I say
it is true, that the Lord Christ by his Spirit is the efficient cause of
our personal, inherent righteousness. By his grace it is effected and
Avrought in us; he renews our natures into the image of God, and
without him we can do nothing: so that our habitual and actual
righteousness is from him. But this personal righteousness is our
sanctification, and nothing else. And although the same internal
habit of inherent gTace, with operations suitable thereunto, be some-
times called our sanctification, and sometimes our righteousness, with
respect unto those operations, yet is it never distiuguished into our
sanctification and our righteousness. But his being made righteous-
ness unto us in this place is absolutely distinct from his being made
sanctification unto us; Avhich is that inherent righteousness which is
wrought in us by the Spirit and grace of Christ. And his working
personal righteousness in us, which is our sanctification, and the im-
putation of his righteousness unto us, whereby we are made righteous
before God, are not only consistent, but the one of them cannot be
without the other.
'1. He pleads, " That Christ is said to be made righteousness unto
us, as he is made redemption. Now, he is our redemption, because
he hath redeemed us. So is he said to be made righteousness unto
us, because by him we become righteous;" or, as another speaks,
" because by him alone we are justified." This is the same plea with
the former, — namely, that there is a metonymy of the effect for the
S4iS ON JUSTIFICATION'.
cause in all these exjiressious ; yet what cause they intend it to bo
who expound the words, " By him alone we are justified," I do not un-
derstand. But Bellarmine is approaching yet nearer the truth : for as
Christ is said to be made of God redemption unto us, because by his
blood we are redeemed, or freed from sin, death, and hell, by the ran-
som he paid for us, or have redemption through his blood, even the for-
giveness of sins; so he is said to be made righteousness unto us, because
through his righteousness granted unto us of God (as God's making
him to be righteousness unto us, and our becoming the righteousness
of God in him, and the imputation of his righteousness unto us, that
we may be righteous before God, are the same), we are justified.
His third answer, as was before observed, grants the whole of what
we plead ; for it is the same which he gives unto Jer. xxiii. 6 : which
place he conjoins with this, as of the same sense and importance,
giving up his whole cause in satisfaction unto them, in the words
before described, lib. ii. cap. 10.
Socinus prefaceth his answer unto this testimony with an admira-
tion that any should make use of it, or plead it in this cause, it is so
impertinent unto the purpose. And, indeed, a pretended contempt
of the arguments of his adversaries is the principal artifice he makes
use of in all his replies and evasions; wherein I am sorry to see that
he is followed by most of them who, together with him, do oppose
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. And so of late the
use of this testimony, which reduced Bellarmine to so great a strait,
is admired at on the only ground and reason wherewith it is opposed
by Socinus. Yet are his exceptions unto it such as that I cannot
also but a little, on the other hand, wonder that any learned man
should be troubled with them, or seduced by them; for he only
pleads, " That if Christ be said to be made righteousness unto us
because his righteousness is imputed unto us, then is he said to be
made wisdom unto us because his wisdom is so imputed, and s© of
his sanctification ; which none will allow : yea, he must be redeemed
for us, and his redemption be imputed unto us." But there is nothing
of force nor truth in this pretence: for it is built only on this sup-
position, that Christ must be made unto us of God all these things
in the same way and manner; whereas they are of such different
natures that it is utterly impossible he should so be. For instance, he
is made sanctification unto us, in that by his Spirit and grace we are
freely sanctified ; but he cannot be said to be made redemption unto
us, in that by his Spirit and grace we are freely redeemed. And if
he is said to be made righteousness unto us, because by his Spirit
and grace he works inherent righteousness in us, then is it plainly
the same with his being made sanctification unto us. Neither doth
he himself believe that Christ is made all these things unto us in
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 347
the same way and manner; and therefore doth he not assign any-
special way whereby he is so made them all, but clouds it in an am-
biguous expression, that he becomes all these things unto us in the
providence of God. But ask him in particular, how Christ is made
sanctification unto us, and he will tell you that it was by his doctrine
and example alone, with some such general assistance of the Spirit
of God as he will allow. But now, this is no way at all whereby
Christ was made redemption unto us; which being a thing external,
and not wrought in us, Christ can be no otherwise made redemption
unto us than by the imputation unto us of what he did that we
might be redeemed, or reckoning it on our account; — not that he
was redeemed for us, as he childishly cavils, but that he did that
whereby we are redeemed. Wherefore, Christ is made of God right-
eousness unto us in such a way and manner as the nature of the
thing doth require. Say some, "It is because by him we are justified."
Howbeit the text says not that hj him Ave are justified, but that he is
of God made righteousness unto us; which is not our justification, but
the ground, cause, and reason whereon we are justified. Righteous-
ness is one thing, and justification is another. Wherefore we must
inquire how we come to have that righteousness whereby we are
justified; and this the same apostle tells us plainly is by imputation:
" Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth righteousness,"
Rom. iv. 6. It follows, then, that Christ being made unto us of God
righteousness, can have no other sense but that his righteousness is
imputed unto us, which is what this text doth undeniably confirm.
2 Cor. V. 21. The truth pleaded for is yet more emphatically ex-
pressed: " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The
paraphrase of Austin on these words gives the sense of them : '■' Ipse
peccatum ut nos justitia, non nostra sed Dei, non in nobis sed in
ipso; sicut ipse peccatum non suum sed nostrum, non in se, sed in
nobis constitutum," Enchirid. ad Laurent., cap. iv. And the words
of Chrysostom upon this place, unto the same purpose, have been
cited before at large.
To set out the greatness of the grace of God in our reconciliation
l)y Christ, he describes him by that paraphrasis, rov i^ri yvovra aij^apTiav^
— " who knew no sin," or " who knew not sin." He knew sin in the
notion or understanding of its nature, and he knew it experiment-
ally in the effects which he undenvent and suffered ; but he knew it
not, — that is, was most remote from it, — as to its commission or
guilt. So that " he knew no sin," is absolutely no more but " he
did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth," as it is expressed,
1 Pet. ii. 22; or that he was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
848 ON JUSTIFICATION.
from sinners/' Heb. vii. 26. Howbeit, tbere is an emphasis in the
expression, which is not to be neglected : for as it is observed by
Chrysostom, as containing an anxesis (ov'^i rhv /j^rt u/Maprdvovra /xovov
X'ijii aXka rov /x^Ss yvovra afMupriav), and by sundry learned persons
after hira ; so those who desire to learn the excellency of the grace of
God herein, will have an impression of a sense of it on their minds from
this emphatical expression, which the Holy Ghost chose to make use
of unto that end ; and the observation of it is not to be despised.
" He hath made him to be sin;" "That is," say many expositors,
" a sacrifice for sin." " Quemadmodum oblatus est pro peccatis, nou
immerito peccatum factus dicitur, quia et bestia in lege quae pro pec-
catis offerebatur, peccatum nuncupatur," Ambros. in locum. So the
sin and trespass-offering are often expressed by nxtsn and ^^'^, —
" the sin " and " trespass," or " guilt." And I shall not contend
about this exposition, because that signified in it is according unto
the truth. But there is another more proper signification of the
word: aiMapria being put for a[iaprcnX6i, — "sin," for a "sinner,"
(that is, passively, not actively ; not by inhesion, but imputation) ;
for this the phrase of speech and force of the antithesis seem to
require. Speaking of another sense, Estius^ himself on the place
adds, as that which he approves : " Hie intellectus explicandus est
per commentarium Grsecorum Chrysostomi et ceeterorum; quia pec-
catum emphaticwj interpretantur magnum peccatorem ; ac si dicat
apostolus, nostri causa tractavit eum tanquam ipsum peccatum, ipsum
scelus, id est, tanquam hominem insigniter sceleratum, ut in quo
posuerit iniquitates omnium nostrum." And if this be the interpre-
tation of the Greek scholiasts, as indeed it is, Luther was not the
first who affirmed that Christ was made the greatest sinner, — namely,
by imputation. But we shall allow the former exposition, provided
that the true notion of a sin-offering, or expiatory sacrifice, be ad-
mitted : for although this neither was nor could consist in the trans-
fusion of the inherent sin of the person into the sacrifice, yet did it
so in the translation of the guilt of the sinner unto it; as is fully
declared. Lev. xvi. 20, 2L Only I must sa}^, that I grant this signi-
fication of the word to avoid contention ; for whereas some say that
aijjapria signifies sin, and a sacrifice for sin, it cannot be allowed.
^^PC in Kal, signifies " to err, to sin, to transgress the law of God."
In Piel it hath a contrary signification, — namely, " to cleanse from
sin," or " to make expiation of sin." Hence ^it^^n ig most frequently
used with respect unto its derivation from the first conjugation, and
signifies "sin," "transgression," and "guilt;" but sometimes with
respect unto the second, and then it signifies " a sacrifice for sin, to
' Estius wrote a "Siniima Theologisp," in 1614, and commentaries upon the
four books of the Sentences in 1615. — Ed.
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 3 19
make expiation of it." And so it is rendered by tlie LXX., some-
times by 'iXad'Mjg, Ezek. xliv. 27, sometimes s^iXaff/ji.6g, Exod. xxx. 10,
Ezek. xliii. 22, a " propitiation," a " propitiatory sacrifice ;" sometimes
by dyvig/Ma, Numb. xix. 19, and ayviG/j.og, " pmification," or " cleans-
ing." But a/j.apria, absolutely, doth nowhere, in any good author, nor
in the Scripture, signify a sacrifice for sin, vmless it may be allowed
to do so in this one place alone. For whereas the LXX. do render
nx^n constantly by aiiapria, where it signifies sin ; where it denotes
an offering for sin, and they retain that word, they do it by 'Xipi
aiiapTiag, an elliptical expression, which they invented for that which
they knew aijjapria of itself neither did nor could signify. Lev. iv.
3, 14, 32, 35, V. 6-11, vi. 30, viii. 2. And they never omit the pre-
position unless they name the sacrifice; as iJ^(i(sxog rrig a/x^apriag. This
is observed also by the apostle in the New Testament ; for twice,
expressing the sin-offering by this word, he useth that phrase vipi
afiapriag, Rom. viii. 3, Heb. x. 6 ; but nowhere useth afiaprlm to that
purpose. If it be, therefore, of that signification in this place, it is
so here alone. And whereas some think that it answers " piaculum "
in the Latin, it is also a mistake; for the first signification of afxapria
is confessed to be sin, and they would have it su^jposed that thence
it is abused to signify a sacrifice for sin. But " piaculum" is properly
a sacrifice, or any thing whereby sin is expiated, or satisfaction is
made for it. And very rarely it is abused to denote such a sin or
crime as deserves public expiation, and is not otherwise to be par-
doned ; so Virgil, —
"Distnlit in seram commissa piacula mortem." — [iEn. vi. 569.]
But we shall not contend about words, whilst we can agree about
what is intended.
The only inquiiy is, how God did make him to be sin ? " He hath
made him to be sin;" so that an act of God is intended. And this
is elsewhere expressed by his " laying all our iniquities upon him,"
or causing them to meet on him, Isa. liii. 6. And this was by the
imputation of oi;r sins unto him, as the sins of the people were put
on the head of the goat, that they should be no more theirs, but his,
so as that he was to carry them away from them. Take sin in either
sense before mentioned, either of a sacrifice for sin, or a sinner, and
the imputation of the guilt of sin antecedently unto the punishment
of it, and in order thereunto, must be understood. For in every sac-
rifice for sin thei'e was an imposition of sin on the beast to be offered,
antecedent unto the sacrificing of it, and therein its suffering by death.
Therefore, in every offering for sin, he that brought it was to " put
his hand on the head of it," Lev. i. 4. And that the transferiing of
the guilt of sin unto the offering was thereby signified, is expressly
350 ON JUSTIFICATION.
declared, Lev. xvi. 21. Wherefore, if God made tlie Lord Christ a
sin-offering for us, it was by the imputation of the guilt of sin unto
him antecedently unto his suffering. Nor could any offering be
made for sin, without a typical translation of the guilt of sin unto it.
And, therefore, when an offering was made for the expiation of the
guilt of an uncertain murder, those who were to make it by the law,
— namely, the elders of the city that was next unto the place where
the man was slain, — were not to offer a sacrifice, because there was
none to confess guilt over it, or to lay guilt upon it; but whereas
the neck of an heifer was to be stricken off, to declare the punish-
ment due unto blood, they were to wash their hands over it to testify
their own innocency, Deut. xxi. 1-8. But a sacrifice for sin without
the imputation of guilt there could not be. And if the word be
taken in the second sense, — namely, for a sinner, that is, by impu-
tation, and in God's esteem, — it must be by the imputation of guilt ;
for none can, in any sense, be denominated a sinner from mere
suffering. None, indeed, do say that Christ was made sin by the
imputation of punishment unto him, which hath no proper sense;
but they say sin was imputed unto him as unto punishment : which
is indeed to say that the guilt of sin was imputed unto him; for
the guilt of sin is its respect unto punishment, or the obligation
unto punishment which attends it. And that any one should be
punished for sin without the imputation of the guilt of it unto him,
is impossible; and, were it possible, would be unjust: for it is Dot
possible that any one should be punished for sin properly, and yet
that sin be none of his. And if it be not his by inhesion, it can be
his no other Avay but by iinputation. One may suffer on the occa-
sion of the sin of another that is no way made his, but he cannot
be punished for it; for punishment is the recompense of sin on the
account of its guilt. And were it possible, where is the righteous-
ness of punishing any one for that which no way belongs unto him?
Besides, imputation of sin, and punishing, are distinct acts, the one
preceding the other ; and therefore the former is only of the guilt of
sin : wherefore, the Lord Christ was made sin for us, by the impu-
tation of the guilt of our sins unto him.
But it is said, that if " the guilt of sin were imputed unto Christ,
he is excluded from all possibility of merit, for he suffered but what
was his due ; and so the whole work of Christ's satisfaction is sub-
verted. This must be so, if God in judgment did reckon him guilty
and a sinner." But there is an ambiguity in these expressions. If
it be meant that God in judgment did reckon him guilty and a sinner
inherently in his own person, no such thing is intended. But God
laid all our sins on him, and in judgment spared him not, as unto
what was due unto them. And so he suffered not what was his due
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 851
upon his own account, but what was clue unto our sin : wliich it is
impiety to deny ; for if it were not so, he died in vain, and we are still
in our sins. And as his satisfaction consists herein, nor could be
without it, so doth it not in the least derogate from his merit. For
supposing the infinite dignity of his person, and his voluntary sus-
ception of our sin to answer for it, which altered not his state and
condition, his obedience therein was highly meritorious.
In answer hereunto, and by virtue hereof, we are made " the right-
eousness of God in him/' This was the end of his being made sin
for us. And by whom are we so made? It is by God himself: for " it
is God that justifieth," Rom. viii. 33 ; it is God who " imputeth
righteousness," chap. iv. 6. Wherefore it is the act of God in our
justification that is intended; and to be made the righteousness of
God is to be made righteous before God, though emphatically ex-
pressed by the abstract for the concrete, to answer what was said
before of Christ being made sin for us. To be made the righteous-
ness of God is to be justified; and to be made so in him, as he was
made sin for us, is to be justified by the imputation of his righteous-
ness unto us, as our sin Avas imputed unto him.
No man can assign any other way whereby he was made sin, espe-
cially his being made so by God, but by God's laying all our iniquities
upon him, — that is, imputing our sin unto him. How, then, are we
made the righteousness of God in him? " By the infusion of a habit
of grace," say the Papists generally. Then, by the rule of antithesis,
he must be made sin for us by the infusion of a habit of sin ; which
would be a blasphemous imagination. " By his meriting, procuring, and
purchasing righteousness for us," say others. So, possibly, we might be
made righteous hy him ; but so we cannot be made righteous in him.
This can only be by his righteousness as we are in him, or united
unto him. To be righteous in him is to be righteous with his right-
eousness, as we are one mystical person with him. Wherefore, —
To be made the righteousness of God in Christ, as he was made sin
for us, and because he was so, can be no other but to be made right-
eous by the imputation of his righteousness unto us, as we are in him
or united unto him. All other expositions of these words are both
jejune and forced, leading the mind from the first, plain, obvious
sense of them.
Bellarmine excepts unto this interpretation, and it is his first argu-
ment against the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, lib. ii.
cap. 7, De Justificatione, " Quinto refellitur quoniam si vere nobis
imputetur justitia Christi ut per eam justi habeamur ac censeremur,
ac si proprie nostra esset intrinseca formalisque justitia, profecto non
minus justi haberi et censeri deberemus quam ipse Christus: proinde
deberemus dici atque liaberi redemptores, et salvatores mundi, quod
352 ox JUSTIFICATION.
est absurdissimum." So full an answer hatli been returned hereunto,
and that so frequently, by Protestant divines, as that I would not
have mentioned it, but that divers among ourselves are pleased to
borrow it from him and make use of it. " For," say they, " if the
righteousness of Christ be imputed unto us so as thereby to be made
ours, then are we as righteous as Christ himself, because we are right-
eous with his righteousness." Ans. 1. These things are plainly affirmed
in the Scripture, that, as unto ourselves and in ourselves, " we are all
as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,"
Isa. Ixiv. 6, on the one hand ; and that " in the Lord we have righte-
ousness and strength; in the LORD we are justified and do glory,"
Isa. xlv. 24, 25, on the other; — that " if we say we have no sin, we de-
ceive ourselves:" and yet we are "the righteousness of God in Christ."
Wherefore these things are consistent, whatever cavils the wit of men
can raise against them ; and so they must be esteemed, unless we will
comply with Sociniis's rule of interpretation, — namely, that where
any thing seems repugnant unto our reason, though it be never so
expressly affirmed in the Scripture, we are not to admit of it, but
find out some interpretation, though never so forced, to bring the
sense of the words unto our reason. Wherefore, — 2. Notwithstanding
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto us, and our being
made righteous therewith, we are sinners in ourselves (the Lord
knows greatly so, the best of us) ; and so cannot be said to be as right-
eous as Christ, but only to be made righteous in him who are sinners
in ourselves. 3. To say that tue are as righteous as Christ, is to make
a comparison between the personal righteousness of Christ and our
personal righteousness, — if the comparison be of things of the same
kind. But this is foolish and impious: for, notwithstanding all our
personal righteousness, we are sinful; he knew no sin. And if the
comparison be between Christ's personal, inherent righteousness,
and righteousness imputed unto us, inhesion and imputation be-
ing things of diverse kinds, it is fond and of no consequence.
Christ was actively righteous; we are passively so. When our sin
was imputed unto him, he did not tliereby become a sinner as we
are, actively and inherently a sinuer; but passively only, and in God's
estimation. As he was made sin, yet knew no sin; so we are made
righteous, yet are sinful in ourselves. 4. The righteousness of Christ,
as it was his personally, was the righteousness of the Son of God, in
which respect it had in itself an infinite perfection and value; but it
is imputed unto us only with respect unto our personal want, — not as
it was satisfactory for all, but as our souls stand in need of it, and are
made partakers of it. There is, therefore, no ground for any such
comparison. 5. As unto what is added by Bellarmine, that we may
hereon be said to be redeemers and saviours of the world, the ab-
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. So3
surdity of the assertion flxlls upon himself; we are not concerned in it.
For he affirms direct^, Kb. i., De Purgator., cap. 14, that "a man
may be rightly called his own redeemer and saviour;" which he en-
deavours to prove from Dan. iv. And some of his church affirm tliat
the saints may be called the redeemers of others, though improj)erly.
But we are not concerned in these things; seeing from the imputation
of the righteousness of Christ, it follows only that those unto whom
it is imputed are redeemed and saved, not at all that they are re-
deemers and saviours. It belongs also unto the vindication of this
testimony to show the vanity of his seventh argument in the same
case, because that also is made use of by some among ourselves; and
it is this: " If by the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us, we
may be truly said to be righteous, and the sons of God ; then may
Christ, by the imputation of our unrighteousness, be said to be a sin-
ner, and a child of the devil." Ans. ]. That which the Scripture
affirms concerning the imputation of our sins unto Christ is, that " he
v/as made sin for us." This the Greek expositors, Chrysostom, Theo-
phylact, and Oecumenius, with many others, take for " a sinner." But
all affirm that denomination to be taken from inij)utation only: he
had sin imputed unto him, and underwent the punishment due unto
it; as we have righteousness imputed unto us, and enjoy the benefit
of it. 2. The imputation of sin unto Christ did not carry along
v/itli it any thing of the pollution or filth of sin, to be communicated
unto him by transfusion, — a thing impossible; so that no denomina-
tion can thence arise which should include in it any respect unto
tliem. A thought hereof is impious, and dishonourable unto the Son
of God. But his being made sin tlu'ough the imputation of the guilt
of sin, is his honour and glory. S. The imputation of the sin of
fornicators, idolaters,, adulterers, etc., such as the Corinthians were
before their conversion unto Christ, doth not on any ground bring
him under a denomination from those sins. For they were so in
themselves actively, inherently, subjectively; and thence were so
called. But that he who knew no sin, voluntarily taking on him to
answer for the guilt of those sins, — which in him was an act of right-
eousness, and the highest obedience unto God, — should be said to be
an idolater, etc., is a fond imagination. The denomination of a
sinner from sin inherent, actually committed, defiling the soul, is a
reproach, and significative of the utmost unworthiness ; but even the
denomination of a sinner by the imputation of sin, without the least
personal guilt or defilement being undergone by him unto whom it
is imputed, in an act of the highest obedience, and tending unto the
greatest glory of God, is highly honourable and glorious. But, —
4. The imputation of sin unto Christ was antecedent unto any real
union between him and sinners, whereon he took their sin on him as
VOL. V 23
354 ON JUSTIFICATION.
he would, and for what ends he would ; but the imputation of his
righteousness unto believers is consequential in order of nature unto
their union with him, whereby it becomes theirs in a peculiar manner :
so as that there is not a parity of reason that he should be esteemed
a sinner, as that they should be accounted righteous. And, — 5. We
acquiesce in this, that on the imputation of sin unto Christ, it is said
that " God made him to be sin for us," which he could not be, but
thereby, — and he was so by an act transient in its effects, for a time
only, that time wherein he underwent the punishment due unto it;
but on the imputation of his righteousness unto us, we are " made the
righteousness of God," with an everlasting righteousness, that abides
ours always. 6. To be a child of the devil by sin/ is to do the works
of the devil, John viii. 44; but the Lord Christ, in taking our sins
iipon him, when imputed unto him, did the work of God in the
highest act of holy obedience, evidencing himself to be the Son of
God thereby, and destroying the work of the devil. So foolish and
impious is it to conceive that any absolute change of state or rela-
tion in him did ensue thereon.
That by " the righteousness of God," in this place, our own faith
and obedience according to the gospel, as some would have it, are in-
tended, is so alien from the scope of the place and sense of the words,
as that I shall not particularly examine it. The righteousness of God
is revealed to faith, and received by faith ; and is not therefore faith
itself. And the force of the antithesis is quite perverted by this
conceit; for where is it in this, — that he was made sin by the impu-
tation of our sin unto him, and we are made righteousness by the
imputation of our own faith and obedience unto ourselves ? But as
Christ had no concern in sin but as God made him sin, — it was never
in him inherently; so have we no interest in this righteousness, — it
is not in us inherently, but only is imputed unto us. Besides, the
act of God in making us righteous is his justifying of us. But this
is not by the infusion of the habit of faith and obedience, as we have
proved. And what act of God is intended by them who affirm that
the righteousness of God which we are made is our own righteous-
ness, I know not. The constitution of the gospel law it cannot be ; for
that makes no man righteous. And the persons of believers are the
object of this act of God, and that as they are considered in Christ.
Gal. ii. 16. The epistle of the same apostle unto the Galatiansis
wholly designed unto the vindication of the doctrine of justification
by Christ, without the works of the law, with the use and means of
its improvement. The sum of his whole design is laid down in the
repetition of his words unto the apostle Peter, on the occasion of his
failure, there related, chap. ii. 16, " Knowing that a man is not jus-
tified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 855
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."
That which he doth here assert, was such a known, such a funda-
mental principle of truth among all believers, that their conviction
and knowledge of it was the gi'ound and occasion of their transition
and passing over from Judaism unto the gospel, and faith in Jesus
Christ thereby.
And in the words, the apostle determines that great inquiry, how
or by what means a man is or may be justified before God? The
subject spoken of is expressed indefinitely: " A man," — that is, any
man, a Jew, or a Gentile; a believer, or an unbeliever; the apostle
that spake, and they to whom he spake, — the Galatians to whom he
wrote, who also for some time had believed and made profession of
the gospel.
The answer given unto the question is both negative and positive,
both asserted with the highest assurance, and as the common faith of
all Christians, but only those who had been carried aside from it by
seducers. He asserts that this is not, this cannot be, " by the works of
the law." What is intended by " the law," in these disputations of
the apostle, hath been before declared and evinced. The law of Moses
is sometimes signally intended, — not absolutely, but as it was the pre-
sent instance of men's cleaving unto the law of righteousness, and
not submitting themselves thereon unto the righteousness of God.
But that the consideration of the moral law, and the duties of it, is
in this argument anywhere excepted by him, is a weak imagination,
— yea, it would except the ceremonial law itself ; for the observation
of it, whilst it was in force, was a duty of the moral law.
And the works of the law are the works and duties of obedience
which this law of God requires, performed in the manner that it pre-
scribes,— namely, in faith, and out of love unto God above all ; as hath
been proved. To say that the apostle excludeth only works abso-
lutely j)erfect, which none ever did or could perform since the en-
trance of sin, is to suppose him to dispute, with great earnestness
and many arguments, against that which no man asserted, and which
he doth not once mention in all his discourse. Nor can he be said to
exclude only works that are looked on as meritorious, seeing he ex-
cludeth all works, that there may be no place for merit in our justi-
fication; as hath also been proved. IS or did these Galatians, whom
he "WTites unto, and convinccth them of their eiTor, look for justifica-
tion from any works but such as they performed then, when they
Avere believers. So that all sorts of works are excluded from any
interest in our justification. And so much weight doth the apostle
lay on this exclusion of works from our justification, as that he affirms
that the admittance of it overthrows the whole gospel, verse 21 :
S56 ox JUSTIFICATION.
" For," saith he, " if righteousness be by the law, then Christ is dead
in vain;" and it is dangerous venturing on so sharp a fence.
Not this or that sort of works; not this or that manner of the per-
formance of them; not this or that kind of interest in our justifica-
tion ; but all works, of what sort soever, and however performed, are
excluded from any kind of consideration in our justification, as our
works or duties of obedience. For these Galatians, whom the apostle
reproves, desired no more but that, in the justification of a believer,
works of the law, or duties of obedience, might be admitted into a
conjimction or copartnership with faith in Christ Jesus; for that they
would exclude faith in him, and assign justification unto works Avith-
out it, nothing is intimated, and it is a foolish imagination. In op-
position hereunto he positively ascribes our justification unto faith in
Christ alone. " Not by works, but by faith," is by faith alone. That
the particles lav /xrj are not exceptive but adversative, hath not only
been undeniably proved by Protestant divines, but is acknowledged by
those of the Roman church who pretend unto any modesty in this
controversy. The words of Estius on this place deserve to be tran-
scribed: "Nisi per fidem Jesu Christi; sententiam reddit obscuram
particula nisi" (so the Vulgar Latin renders sav ^ajj, instead of " sed"
or " sed tantum") " qua? si proprie ut Latinis auribus sonat accipia-
tur, exceptionem facit ab eo quod pra?cedit, ut sensus sit hominem
non justificari ex operibus Legis, nisi fides in Christum ad ea opera
accedat, quae si accesserit justificari eum per legis opera. Sed cum
hie sensus justificationem dividat, partim eam tribuens operil)us legis,
partim fidei Christi, quod est contra definitam et absolutam apostoli
sententiam, manifestum est, interpretationem illam tanquam aposto-
lico sensui et scope contrariam omnino repudiandam esse. Yerum
constat voculam ' nisi' frequenter in Scripturis adversative sumi, ut
idem valeat quod ' sed tantum.' " So he according to his usual can-
dour and ingenuity.
It is not probable that we shall have an end of contending in this
Avorld, when men will not acquiesce in such plain determinations of
controversies given by the Holy Ghost himself
The interpretation of this place, given as the meaning of the apostle,
— that men cannot be justified by those works which they cannot per-
form, that is, works absolutely perfect ; but may be so, and are so, by
those which they can and do perform, if not in their own strength,
yet by the aid of grace ; and that faith in Christ Jesus, which the
apostle opposeth absolutely unto all works whatever, doth include in
it all those works which he excludes, and that with respect unto that
end or effect with respect whereunto they are excluded ; cannot well
be supposed to be suitable unto the mind of the Holy Ghost.
Eph. iL 8-10. " For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 357
not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man
should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them."
Unless it had seemed good unto the Holy Ghost to have expressed
beforehand all the evasions and subterfuges which the wit of man in
after ages could invent, to pervert the doctrine of our justification
before God, and to have rejected them, it is impossible they could
have been more plainly prevented than they are in this context. If
we may take a little unprejudiced consideration of it, I suppose what
is affirmed will be evident.
It cannot be denied but that the design of the apostle, from the
beginning of this chapter unto the end of verse 11, is to declare the
way whereby lost and condemned sinners come to be delivered, and
translated out of that condition into an estate of acceptance tuith
God, and eternal salvation thereon. And therefore, in the first place,
he fully describeth their natural state, with their being obnoxious
unto the wrath of God thereby; for such was the method of this
apostle, — unto the declaration of the grace of God in any kind, he did
usually, yea, constantly, premise the consideration of our sin, misery,
and ruin. Others, now, like not this method so well. Howbeit this
hinders not but that it was his. Unto this pui-pose he declares unto
the Ephesians that they "were dead in trespasses and sins,'' — express-
ing the power that sin had on their souls as unto spiritual life, and
all the actions of it ; but withal, that they lived and walked in sin, and
on all accounts were the " children of wrath," or subject and liable
unto eternal condemnation, verses 1-3. What such persons can do
towards their own deliverance, there are many terms found out to
express, all passing my understanding, seeing the entire design of the
apostle is to prove that they can do nothing at all. But another
cause, or other causes of it, he finds out, and that in direct, express
opposition unto any thing that may be done by ourselves unto that
end: 'O hs Oih; TrXovgiog wv sv iXssi, verse 4. It is not a work for us
to undertake; it is not Avhat we can contribute any thing unto:
" But God, who is rich in mercy." The adversative includes an
opposition unto every thing on our part, and encloseth the whole
work to God. Would men have rested on this divine revelation, the
church of God had been free from many of those perverse opinions
and wrangling disputes which it hath been pestered withal. But
they will not so easily part Avith thoughts of some kind of interest in
, being the authors of their own happiness. Wherefore, two things we
may observe in the apostle's assignation of the causes of our deliver-
ance from a state of sin, and [of our] acceptance with God: —
1. That he assigns the whole of this Avork absolutely unto grace,
S5S ON JUSTIFICATION.
love, and mercy, and that with an exckision of the consideration of
any thing on our part; as we shall see immediately, verses o, 8.
2. He magnifies this grace in a marvellous manner. For, — First,
He expresseth it by all names and titles whereby it is signified;
as g'Xsog, aydvn, %a^'e, xpn<^r(trni, — "mercy," "love," "grace," and
"kindness:" for he would have us to look only unto grace herein.
Secondly, He ascribes such adjuncts, and gives such epithets, unto
that divine mercy and grace, which is the sole cause of our deliver-
ance, in and by Jesus Christ, as rendered it singular, and herein
solely to be adored: irXo-oaiog sv sXsn, dioc rrjv 'XoXkriv ayd'xriV v-TTsp-
QdXXuv '^rXovros rijg -/^dpirog' — "rich in mercy;" " great love where-
with he loved us;" " the exceeding riches of his grace in his kind-
ness," verses 4-7. It cannot reasonably be denied but that the
apostle doth design deeply to affect the mind and heart of believers
with a sense of the grace and love of God in Christ, as the only cause
of their justification before God. I think no words can express those
conceptions of the mind which this representation of grace doth
suggest. Whether they think it any part of their duty to be like-
minded, and comply with the apostle in this design, who scarce ever
mention the grace of God, unless it be in a way of diminution from
its efficacy, and unto whom such ascriptions unto it as are here made
by him are a matter of contempt, is not hard to judge.
But it will be said, "These are good words, indeed, but they are only
general ; there is nothing of argument in all this adoring of the grace
of God in the work of our salvation." It may be so, it seems, to many;
but yet, to speak plainly, there is to me more argument in this one
consideration, — namely, of the ascription made in this cause unto
the grace of God in this place, — than in a hundred sophisms, suited
neither unto the expressions of the Scripture nor the experience of
them that do believe. He that is possessed with a due apprehension
of the grace of God, as here represented, and under a sense that it
was therein the design of the Holy Ghost to render it glorious and
alone to be trusted unto, will not easily be induced to concern him-
self in those additional supplies unto it from our own works and obe-
dience which some would suggest unto him. But we may yet look
farther into the words.
The case which the apostle states, the inquiry which he hath in
hand, whereon he determineth as to the truth wherein he instructs
the Ephesians, and in them the whole church of God, is, how a lost,
condemned sinner may come to be accepted with God, and thereon
saved? And this is the sole inquiry wherein we are, or intend in this
controversy to be, concerned. Farther we will not proceed, either
upon the invitation or provocation of any. Concerning this, his posi-
tion and determination is, " That we are saved by graca"
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 359
This first he occasionally interposeth in his enumeration of the
benefits we receive by Christ, verse 5. But not content therewith,
he again directly asserts it, verse 8, in the same words; for he seems
to have considered how slow men would be in the admittance of this
tiTith, which at once deprives them of all boastings in themselves.
What it is that he intends by our being saved must be inquired
into. It would not be prejudicial unto, but rather advance the truth
we plead for, if, by our being saved, eternal salvation were intended.
But that cannot be the sense of it in this place, otherwise than as
that salvation is included in the causes of it, which are effectual in
this life. Nor do I think that in that expression, " By grace are ye
saved," our justification only is intended, although it be so princi-
pally. Conversion unto God and sanctification are also included
therein, as is evident from verses 5, 6 ; and they are no less of sove-
reign grace than is our justification itself. But the apostle speaks of
what the Ephesians, being now believers, and by virtue of their be-
ing so, were made partakers of in this life. This is manifest in the
whole context; for having, in the beginning of the chapter, described
their condition, what it was, in common with all the posterity of
Adam, by nature, verses 1-3, he moreover declares their condition in
particular, in opposition to that of the Jews, as they were Gentiles,
idolaters, atheists, verses 11, 12. Their present delivery by Jesus
Christ from this whole miserable state and condition, — that which
they were under in common with all mankind, and that which was
a peculiar aggi-avation of its misery in themselves, — is that which
he intends by their being " saved." That which was principally de-
signed in the description of this state is, that therein and thereby
they were liable unto the wrath of God, guilty before him, and ob-
noxious unto his judgment. This he expresseth in the declaration
of it, verse 3, — answerable unto that method and those grounds he
everywhere proceeds on, in declaring the doctrine of justification,
Rom. iii. 19-24; Tit. iii. 8-5. From this state they had deliver-
ance by faith in Christ Jesus ; for unto as many as receive him,
power is given to be the sons of God, John i. 12. "He that be-
lieveth on him is not condemned;" that is, he is saved, in the sense
of the apostle in this place, John iii. 18. " He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting fife" (is saved) ; " and he that believeth not the
Son, the wrath of God abideth on him," verse 36. And in this sense,
" saved," and " salvation," are frequently used in the Scripture,
Besides, he gives us so full a description of the salvation which he in-
tends, from Eph. ii. 13 unto the end of the chapter, that there can be
no doubt of it. It is oiur being " made nigh by the blood of Christ,"
verse 13; our "peace" with God by his death, verses 14, 15; our
" reconciliation" by the blood of the " cross," verse 16; our " access
360 ON JUSTIFICATION.
unto God;" and all spiritual privileges thereon depending, verses
18-20, etc.
Wherefore, the inquiry of the apostle, and his determination
thereon, is concerning the causes of our justification before God.
This he declares, and fixeth both positively and negatively. Posi-
tiveliu — 1. In the supreme moving cause on the part of God; this
is that free, sovereign grace and love of his, which he illustrates by its
adjuncts and jDroperties before mentioned. 2. In the meritorious
procuring cause of it ; which is Jesus Christ in the work of his media-
tion, as the ordinance of God for the rendering this grace effectual
unto his glory, verses 7, 13, 16. 8. In the only means or instru-
mental cause on our part; which is faith: " By grace are ye saved
through faith," verse 8. And lest he should seem to derogate any thiug
from the grace of God, in asserting the necessity and use of faith, he
adds that epanorthosis, " And that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God." The communication of this faith unto us is no less of grace
than is the justification which we obtain thereby. So hath he secured
the whole work unto the grace of God through Christ ; wherein we
are interested by faith alone.
But not content herewith, he describes this work negatively, or
adds an exclusion of what might be pretended to have a concernment
therein. And therein three things are stated distinctly: — 1. What
it is he so excludes. 2. The reason whereon he doth so. 8. The
confirmation of that reason, wherein he obviates an objection that
might arise thereon: —
1. That which he excludes is ivories: " Not of v/orks," verse 9. And
whatworks he intends, at least principally, himself declares. "Works,"
say some, " of the law, the law of Moses." But what concernment had
these. Ephesians therein, that the apostle should inform them that
they were not justified by those works ? They were never under that
law, never sought for righteousness by it, nor had any respect unto it,
but only that they were delivered from it. But it may be he intends
only works wrought in the strength of our own natural abilities,
without the aids of grace, and before believing. But what were the
works of these Ephesians antecedent unto believing, he before and
afterward declares. For, " being dead in trespasses and sins," they
" walked according to the course of this world in the lusts of the flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind," verses 1-8. It is
certain enough that these works have no influence into our justifica-
tion; and no less certain that the apostle had no reason to exclude
them from it, as though any could pretend to be advantaged by them,
in that which consisteth in a deliverance from them. Wherefore, the
works here excluded by the apostle are those works which the Ephe-
sians now performed, when they were believers, quickened v^rith Christ;
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. SGI
even the "works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them," as he exjiressly declared, verse 10. And these works he
excliideth, not only in opposition unto grace, but in opposition unto
faith also : " Through faith ; not of works." Wherefore he doth not
only reject their merit, as inconsistent with grace, but their co-interest
on our part with, or sul)sequent interest unto faith, in the work of
justification before God.
Ifiue are saved hy grace, through faith in Christ, exclusively unto
all luorks of obedience ivhatever, then cannot such works be the whole
or any part of our righteousness unto the justification of life:
wherefore, another righteousness we must have, or perish for ever.
Many things I know are here offered, and many distinctions coined,
to retain some interest of works in our justification before God; but
whether it be the safest way to trust unto them, or unto this plain,
express, divine testimony, will not be hard for any to determine, when
they make the case their own.
2. The apostle adds a reason of this exclusion of works: " Not of
works, lest any man should boast." God hath ordained the order and
method of our justification by Christ in the way expressed, that no
man might have ground, reason, or occasion to glory or boast in or
of himself So it is expressed, 1 Cor. i. 21, 30, 31; Rom. iii. 27.
To exclude all glorying or boasting on our part is the design of God.
And this consists in an ascription of something unto ourselves that is
not in others, in order unto justification. And it is works alone that
can administer any occasion of this boasting: " For if Abraham were
justified by works, he hath whereof to glory," chap. iv. 2. And it is
excluded alone by the " law of faith," chap. iii. 27; for the nature and
use of faith is to find righteousness in another. And this boasting
all works are apt to beget in the minds of men, if applied unto justifi-
cation; and where there is any boasting of this nature, the design of
God towards us in this work of his grace is frustrated what lieth in us.
That which I principally insist on from hence is, that there are
no boundaries fixed in Scripture unto the interest of works in justi-
fication, so as no boasting should be included in them. The Papists
make them meritorious of it, — at least of our second justification, as
they call it. " This," say some, " ought not to be admitted, for it in-
cludeth boasting. Merit and boasting are inseparable." Wherefore,
say others, they are only " causa sine C[ua non," they are the condition
of it; or they are our evangelical righteousness before God, Avhereon
Ave are evangelically justified; or they are a subordinate righteousness
whereon we obtain an interest in the righteousness of Christ; or are
comprised in the condition of the new covenant whereby we are jus-
tified; or are included in faith, being the form of it, or of the essence
of it, one way or other: for herein men express themselves in gi'eat
362 ON JUSTIFICATION.
variety. But so long as our works are hereby asserted in order unto
our justification, how shall a man be certain that they do not include
boasting, or that they do express the true sense of these words, " Not
of works, lest any man should boast ?" There is some kind of ascrip-
tion unto ourselves in this matter; which is boasting. If any shall
say that they know well enough what they do, and know that they
do not boast in what they ascribe unto works, I must say that in
general I cannot admit it; for the Papists affirm of themselves that
they are most remote from boasting, yet I am very well satisfied that
boasting and merit are insepara])le. The question is, not what men
think they do? but, what judgment the Scripture passeth on what
they do? And if it be said, that what is in us is also of the grace
and gift of God, and is so acknowledged, which excludes all boasting
in ourselves ; I say it was so by the Pharisee, and yet was he a horrible
boaster. Let them, therefore, be supposed to be wrought in us in
what way men please, if they be also wrought by us, and so be the
" works of righteousness which we have done," I fear their introduc-
tion into our justification doth include boasting in it, because of this
assertion of the apostle, " Not of works, lest any man should boasf
Wherefore, because this is a dangerous point, unless men can give
us the direct, plain, indisputable bounds of the introduction of our
works into our justification, which cannot include boasting in it, it is
the safest course utterly to exclude them, wherein I see no danger of
any mistake in these words of the Holy Ghost, " Not of works, lest
any man should boast;" for if we should be unadvisedly seduced into
this boasting, we should lose all the benefits which we might other-
wise expect by the grace of God.
8. The apostle gives another reason why it cannot be of works,
and withal obviates an objection which might arise from what he had
declared, Eph. ii. 10, " For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them." And the force of his reason, which the causal
conjunction intimates the introduction of, consists in this: — that all
good works, — those concerning which he treats, evangelical works, —
are the effects of the grace of God in them that are in Christ Jesus,
and so are truly justified antecedently in order of nature unto them.
But that which he principally designed in these words was that
which he is still mindful of, wherever he treats of this doctrine, —
namely, to obviate an objection that he foresaw some would make
against it ; and that is this, " If good works be thus excluded from
our justification before God, then of what use are they? we may live
as we list, utterly neglect them, and yet be justified." And this very
objection do some men continue to manage with great vehemency
atjainst the same doctrine. We meet with nothing: in this cause
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 863
more frequently, than that " if our justification before God be not of
works, some way or other, if they be not antecedaneously required
thereunto, if they are not a previous condition of it, then there is no
need of them, — men may safely live in an utter neglect of all obe-
dience unto God." And on this theme men are very apt to enlarge
themselves, who otherwise give no great evidences of their own evan-
gelical obedience. To me it is marvellous that they heed not unto
what party they make an accession in the management of this objec-
tion,— namely, unto that of them who were the adversaries of the
doctrine of grace taught by the apostle. It must be elsewhere con-
sidered. For the present, I shall say no more but that, if the answer
here given by the apostle be not satisfactory unto them, — if the grounds
and reasons of the necessity and use of good works here declared be
not judged by them sufficient to establish them in their proper place
and order, — I shall not esteem myself obliged to attempt their farther
satisfaction.
Phil. iii. 8, 9. " Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
This is the last testimony which I shall insist upon, and although
it be of great importance, I shall be the more brief in the considera-
tion of it, because it hath been lately pleaded and vindicated by an-
other, whereunto I do not expect any tolerable reply. For what hath
since been attempted by one, it is of no weight ; he is in this matter o'Jrs
rplrog oiirs r'srapTog. And the things that I would observe from and
concerning this testimony may be reduced into the ensuing heads: —
1. That which the apostle designs, from the beginning of this chap-
ter, and in these verses, is, in an especial manner, to declare what it
is on the account whereof we are accepted with God, and have thereon
cause to rejoice. This he fixeth in general in an interest in, and par-
ticipation of, Christ by faith, in opposition unto all legal privileges
and advantages, wherein the Jews, whom he reflected upon, did
boast and rejoice : " Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh," verse 8. .
2. He supposeth that unto that acceptance before God wherein we
are to rejoice, there is a righteousness necessary; and, whatever it
be, [it] is the sole ground of that acceptance. And to give evidence
hereunto, —
8. He declares that there is a twofold righteousness that may be
pleaded and trusted unto to this purpose : — (1 .) " Our own righte-
•364 ON JUSTIFICATION.
ousness, which is of the law." (2.) " That which is through the faith
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." These he
asserts to be opposite and inconsistent, as unto tlie end of our justifi-
cation and acceptance with God: " Not having mine own righteous-
ness, but that which is," etc. And an intermediate rigliteousness
between these lie acknowledgeth not.
4. Placing the instance in himself, he declares emphatically (so as
there is scarce a greater ird&og, or veheniency of speech, in all his
writings) which of these it was that he adhered unto, and placed his
confidence in. And in the handling of this subject, there were some
things which engaged his holy mind into an earnestness of expression
in the exaltation of one of these, — namely, of the righteousness which
is of God by faith ; and the depression of the other, or his own right-
eousness. As, —
(1.) This was the turning point whereon he and others had for-
saken their Judaism, and betaken themselves unto the gospel. This,
therefore, was to be secured as the main instance, wherein the greatest
controversy that ever was in the world was debated. So he express-
eth it. Gal. ii. 15, 16, "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners
of the Gentiles, 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." (2.) Hereon there was great opposi-
tion made unto this doctrine by the Jews in all places, and in many
of them the minds of multitudes were turned off from the truth
(which the most are generally prone unto in this case), and perverted
from the simplicity of the gospel. This greatly affected his holy soul,
and he takes notice of it in most of his epistles. (3.) The iveight of
the doctrine itself, with that unwillingness which is in the minds of
men by nature to embrace it, as that which lays the axe to the root
of all spiritual pride, elation of mind, and self-pleasing whatever, —
whence innumerable subterfuges have been, and are, sought out to
avoid the efficacy of it, and to keep the souls of men from that uni-
versal resignation of themselves unto sovereign grace in Christ, which
they have naturally such an aversation unto, — did also affect him. (4.)
He had himself been a great sinne?' in the days of his ignorance, by
a peculiar opposition unto Christ and the gospel. This he was deeply
sensible of, and therewithal of the excellency of the gi-ace of God and
the righteousness of Christ, whereby he was delivered. And men
must have some experience of what he felt in himself as unto sin and
grace, before they can well understand his expressions about them.
5. Hence it was that, in many other places of his writings, but in
this especially, he treats of these things with a greater earnestness
and vehemency of spirit than ordinary. Thus, — (1.) On the part of
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. SC5
Christ, whom he would exalt, he mentioneth not only the kuowledge
of huTfi, but TO uTTsps^ov rng yvuidioig, — " the excellency of the know-
ledge of Christ Jesus my Lord," — with an emphasis in every word.
And those other redoubled expressions, " all loss for him;" " that I
may win him;" "■ that I may be found in him;" " that I may know
him,"- — all argue the working of his affections, under the conduct of
faith and truth, unto an acquiescency in Christ alone, as all, and in
all. Somewhat of this frame of mind is necessary unto them that
would believe his doctrine. Those who are utter strangers unto the
one will never receive the other. (2.) In his expression of all other
things that are our own, that are not Christ, whether privileges or
duties, however good, useful, excellent they may be in themselves,
yet, in comparison of Christ and his righteousness, and with respect
unto the end of our standing before God, and acceptance with him,
with the same vehemeucy of spirit he casts contempt upon [them],
calling them ey.uZa'ka, — " dog's meat," — to be left for them whom he
calleth " dogs ; " that is, evil workers of the concision, or the wicked
Jews who adhered pertinaciously unto the righteousness of the law,
Phil. iii. 2. This account of the earnestness of the apostle in this
argimient, and the warmth of his expressions, I thought meet to give,
as that which gives lioht into the whole of his design.
6. The question being thus stated, the inquiry is, what any per-
son, who desires acceptance with God, or a righteousness whereon he
may be justified before him, ought to betake liimself unto? One of
the ways proposed he must close withal. Either he must comply
with the apostle in his resolution to reject all his own righteousnes.s,
and to betake himself unto the righteousness of God, which is by
faith in Christ Jesus alone, or find out for himself, or get some to
find out for liim, some exceptions unto the apostle's conclusion, or
some distinctions that may prepare a reserve for his own works, one
way or other, in his justification before God. Here every one must
choose for himself. In the meantime, we thus argue : — If our own
righteousness, and the righteousness which is of God by faith, or that
which is through the faith of Christ Jesus (namely, the righteous-
ness which God imputeth unto us, Rom. iv. 6, or the abundance of
grace and the gift of righteousness thereby which we receive, chap.
V. 1 7), are opposite and inconsistent in the work of justification be-
fore God, then are we justified by faith alone, through the imputa-
tion of the righteousness of Christ unto us. The consequent is plain,
from the removal of all otlier waj^s, causes, means, and conditions of
it, as inconsistent witli it. But the antecedent is expressly the
apostle's : " Not my own, but that of God." Again, —
That whereby and wherewith we are " found in Christ " is that
whereby alone we are justified before God ; for to be found in Christ
366 ON JUSTIFICATION.
expressetli the state of the person that is to be justified before God;
whereunto is opposed to be found in ourselves. And according unto
these different states doth the judgment of God pass concerning us.
And as for those who are found in themselves, we know what will
be their portion. But in Christ we are found by faith alone.
All manner of evasions are made use of by some to escape the
force of this testimony. It is said, in general, that no sober-minded
man can imagine the apostle did not desire to be found in gospel
righteousness, or that by his own righteousness he meant that ; for
it is that alone can entitle us unto the benefits of Christ's righteous-
ness. " Nollem dictum." (1.) The censure is too severe to be cast
on all Protestant writers, without exception, who have expounded
this place of the apostle ; and all others, except some few of late,
influenced by the heat of the controversy wherein they are engaged.
(2.) If the gospel righteousness intended be his own personal right-
eousness and obedience, there is some want of consideration in affirm-
ing that he did desire to be found in it. That wherein we are
found, thereon are we to be judged. To be found in our own evan-
gelical righteousness before God, is to enter into judgment with God
thereon ; which those who understand any thing aright of God and
themselves will not be fi'ee unto. And to make this to be the mean-
ing of his words: " I desire not to be found in my own righteousness
which is after the law, but I desire to be found in mine own right-
eousness which is according to the gospel," — whereas, as they are his
own inherent righteousness, they are both the same, — doth not seem
a proper interpretation of his words ; and it shall be immediately
disproved. (3.) Tha,t our personal gospel righteousness doth entitle
us unto the benefits of Christ's righteousness, — that is, as unto our
justification before God, — is " gratis dictum ;" not one testimony of
Scripture can be produced that gives the least countenance unto such
an assertion. That it is contrary unto many express testimonies, and
inconsistent with the freedom of the grace of God in our justifica-
tion, as proposed in the Scripture, hath been proved before. Nor
do any of the places which assert the necessity of obedience and good
works in believers, — that is, justified persons, — unto salvation, any
way belong unto the proof of this assertion, or in the least express or
intimate any such thing ; and, in particular, the assertion of it is
expressly contradictory unto that of the apostle, Tit. iii. 4, 5. But I
forbear, and proceed to the consideration of the special answers
that are given unto this testimony, especially those of Bellarmine,
whereunto I have as yet seen nothing added with any pretence of
reason in it: —
1. Some say that by his own righteousness, which the apostle
rejects, he intends only his righteousness ix v6/j.ov, or " by the works
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 867
of the law/' But this was only an outiuard, external righteousness,
consisting in the obsei'vation of rites and ceremonies, without respect
unto the inward frame or obedience of the heart. But this is an
impious imagination. The righteousness which is by the law is the
righteousness which the law requires, and those works of it which
if a man do he shall live in them; for "the doers of the law shall
be justified," Rom. ii. 13. Neither did God ever give any law of
obedience unto man, but what obliged him to " love the Lord his
God with all his heart, and all his soul.'' And it is so far from
being true, that God by the law required an external righteousness
only, that he frequently condemns it as an abomination to him,
where it is alone.
2. Others say that it is the righteousness, whatever it be, which
he had during his Pharisaism. And although he should be allowed,
in that state, to have " lived in all good conscience, instantly to have
served God day and night," and to have had respect as well unto the
internal as the external works of the law ; yet all these works, being
before faith, before conversion to God, may be, and are to be, rejected
as unto any concurrence unto our justification. But works wrought
in faith, by the aid of grace, — evangelical works, — are of another con-
sideration, and, together with faith, are the condition of justification.
Ans. 1. That, in the matter of our justification, the apostle opposeth
evangelical works, not only unto the grace of God, but also unto the
faith of believers, was proved in the consideration of the foregoing
testimony.
2. He makes no such distinction as that pretended, — namely,
that works are of two sorts, whereof one is to be excluded from any
interest in our justification, but not the other; neither doth he any-
where else, treating of the same subject, intimate any such distinc-
tion, but, on the contrary, declares that use of all works of obedi-
ence in them that beUeve which is exclusive of the supposition of
any such distinction: but he directly expresseth, in this rejection, his
own righteousness, — that is, his personal, inherent righteousness, —
whatever it be, and however it be wrought.
3. He makes a plain distinction of his own twofold estate, —
namely, that of his Judaism which he was in before his conversion, and
that which he had by faith in Christ Jesus. In the first state, he con-
siders the privileges of it, and declares what judgment he made
concerning them upon the revelation of Jesus Christ unto him : riyri/j^ai,
saith he, refemng unto the time past, — namely, at his fii'st conver-
sion. " I considered them, with all the advantages, gain, and reputa-
tion which I had by them; but rejected them all for Christ: because
the esteem of them and continuance in them as privileges, was
inconsistent with faith in Christ Jesus." Secondly, he proceeds to
S68 ON JUSTIFICATION.
give an account of himself and his thoughts, as unto his present
condition. For it might he supposed that although he had parted
M-ith all his legal privileges for Christ, yet now, being united unto
him by faith, he had something of his own wherein he might rejoice,
and on the account whereof he might be accepted Avith God (the
thing inquired after), or else he had parted with all for nothing.
Wherefore, he, who had no design to make any reserves of what he
might glory in, plainly declares what his judgment is concernmg all
his present righteousness, and the ways of obedience which he was
now engaged in, with respect unto the ends inquired after, Phil. iii. 8 :
'AXXa iMivoiivyi zai Tiyovfj^ai. The bringing over of what was affirmed
before concerning his Judaical privileges into this verse, is an effect
of a very superficiary consideration of the context. For, — (1.) There
is a plain av^rjSig in these words, 'AXXa fisvoiivyi -/.at. He could not
more plainly express the heightening of what he had affirmed by a
proceed unto other things, or the consideration of himself in another
state : " But, moreover, beyond what I have already asserted." (2.) The
change of the time expressed by ^yri/xai, [which] respects what was
past, into riyov/j.ai, wherein he hath respect only unto what was pre-
sent, not what he had before rejected and forsaken, makes evident his
progress unto the consideration of things of another nature. Where-
fore, unto the rejection of all his former Judaical privileges, he adds
his judgment concerning his own present personal righteousness. But
whereas it might be objected, that, rejecting all both before and after
conversion, he had nothing left to rejoice in, to glory in, to give him
acceptance with God ; he assures us of the contrary, — namely, that he
found all these things in Christ, and the righteousness of God which
is by faith. He is therefore in these words, " Not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law," so far from intending only the
righteousness which he had before his conversion, as that he intends
it not at all.
The words of Davenant on this passage of the apostle, being in
my judgment not only sober, but weighty also, I shall transcribe
them: "Hie docet apostolus queenam illajustitia sit qua nitendum
coram Deo, nunirum qua? per fidem apprehenditur, at hsec imputata
est: Causam etiam ostendit cur jure nostra fiat, nimirum quia nos
Christi sumus et in Christo comperimur; quia igitur insiti sumus in
corpus ejus et coalescimus cum illo in unam personam, ideo ejus jus-
titia nostra reputatur," De Justif Habit, cap. xxxviii. For whereas
some begin to interpret our being " in Christ," and being " found in
him," so as to intend no more but our profession of the faith of the
gospel, the faith of the catholic church in all ages concerning the
mystical union of Christ and believers, is not to be blo\vn away with
a few empty words and unproved assertions.
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. 369
The answer, therefore, is full and clear unto the general exception,
— namely, that the apostle rejects our legal, but not our evangelical
righteousness ; for, — (1.) The apostle rejects, disclaims, disowns,
nothing at all, not the one nor the other absolutely, but in compa-
rison of Christ, and with respect unto the especial end of justification
before God, or a righteousness in his sight. (2.) In that sense he
rejects all our own righteousness; but our evangelical righteousness,
in the sense pleaded for, is our own, inherent in us, performed by us.
(3.) Our legal righteousness, and our evangehcal, so far as an inhe-
rent righteousness is intended, are the same; and the different ends
and use of the same righteousness are alone intended in that dis-
tinction, so far as it hath sense in it. That which in respect of
motives unto it, the ends of it, with the especial causes of its accept-
ance with God, is evangelical ; in respect of its original prescription,
rule, and measure, is legal. When any can instance in any act or
duty, in any habit or effect of it, which is not required by that law
which enjoins us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul,
and mind, and our neighbour as ourselves, they shall be attended un-
to. (4.) The apostle in this case rejects all the "works of righteous-
ness which we have done," Tit. iii. 5 ; but our evangelical righteous-
ness consisteth in the works of righteousness which we do. (5.) He
disclaims all that is our own. And if the evangelical righteousness
intended be our own, he sets up another in opposition unto it; and
which, therefore, is not our o^vn, but as it is imputed unto us. And
I shall yet add some other reasons which render this pretence useless,
or show the falseness of it : —
(1.) Where the apostle doth not distinguish or limit what he speaks
of, what gTound have we to distinguish or limit his assertions? " Not
by works," saith he sometimes, absolutely; sometimes " ^Ae works of
righteousness which we have done." " That is, not by some sort of
works," say those who plead the contrary. But by what warrant?
(2.) The works which they pretend to be excluded, as wherein our
o^vn righteousness that is rejected doth consist, are works wrought
without faith, without the aid of grace : but these are not good
works, nor can any be denominated righteous from them, nor is it
any righteousness that consists in them alone ; for " without faith it
is impossible to please God." And to what purpose should the apostle
exclude evil %vorks and hypocritical from our justification? Who ever
imagined that any could be justified with respect unto them? There
might have been some pretence for this gloss, had the apostle said his
own works; but whereas he rejects his own righteousness, to restrain
it unto such works as are not righteous, as will denominate none
righteous, as are no righteousness at all, is most absurd. (3.) Works
wrought in faith, if applied unto our justification, do give occasion
VOL. V. 24
S70 ON JUSTIFICATION,
unto, or include boasting, more than any others, as being better and
more praiseworthy than they. (4.) The apostle elsewhere excludes
from justification the works that Abraham had done, when he had
been a believer many years; said the works of David, when he de-
scribed the blessedness of a man by the forgiveness of sins. (5.) The
state of the question which he handles in his Epistle unto the Gala-
tians, was expressly about the works of them that did believe ; for he
doth not dispute against the Jews, who would not be pressed in
the least with his arguments, — namely, that if the inheritance were
by the law, then the promise was of none effect ; and if righteousness
were by the law, then did Christ die in vain ; for these things they
would readily grant. But he speaks unto them that were believers,
with respect unto those works which they would have joined with
Christ and the gospel, in order unto justification. (6.) If this were
the mind of the apostle, that he would exclude one sort of works, and
assert the necessity of another unto the same end, why did he not once
say so — especially considering how necessary it was that so he should
do, to answer those objections against his doctrine which he himself
takes notice of and returns answer unto on other grounds, without
the least intimation of any such distinction?
Bellarmine considereth this testimony in three places, lib. i. cap. 18,
lib. i. cap. 19, lib. v. cap. 5, De Justificat. And he returns three
answers unto it ; which contain the substance of all that is pleaded by
others unto the same purpose: He saith, — (1.) " That the righteous-
ness which is by the law, and which is opposed unto the righteous-
ness which is by faith, is not the righteousness written in the law, or
which the law requires, but a righteousness wrought without the aid
of grace, by the knowledge of the law alone.'' (2.) " That the righte-
ousness which is by the faith of Christ is ' opera nostra justa facta
ex fide,' — our own righteous works wrought in faith ; wliich others call
our evangelical works." (3.) " That it is blasphemous to call the duties
of inherent righteousness ^yj/j^lav xai gKvQaXa, — ' loss and dung.' " But
he labours in the fire with all his sophistry. For as to the first, —
(1.) That by the righteousness which is by the law, the righteousness
which the law requires is not intended, is a bold assertion, and ex-
pressly contradictory unto the apostle, Rom. ix. 31, x. 5. In both
places he declares the righteousness of the law to be the righteousness
that the law requires. (2.) The works which he excludes, he calls " the
works of righteousness that we have done," Tit. iii. 5, which are the
works that the law requires. Unto the second, I say, — (1.) That the
substance of it is, that the apostle should profess, " I desire to be
found in Christ, not having my own righteousness, but having my
own righteousness;" for evangelical inherent righteousness was pro-
perly his own. And I am sorry that some should apprehend that the
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. S7l
apostle, in these words, did desire to be found in his own righteous-
ness in the presence of God, in order unto his justification ; for nothing
can be more contrary, not only unto the perpetual tenor and design
of all his discourses on this subject, but also unto the testimony of all
other holy men in the Scripture to the same purpose; as we have
proved before. And I suppose there are very few true believers at
present whom they will find to comply and join with them in this
desire of being found in their own personal evangelical righteousness,
or the works of righteousness which they have done, in their trial
before God, as unto their justification. We should do well to read
our own hearts, as well as the books of others, in this matter.
(2.) " The righteousness which is of God by faith," is not our own obe-
dience or righteousness, but that which is opposed unto it ; that which
God imputes unto us, Rom. iv, 6; that which we receive by way of
gift, chap. V. 1 7. (3.) That by " the righteousness which is through
the faith of Christ," our own inherent righteousness is not intended,
is evident from hence, that the apostle excludes all his own righteous-
ness, as and when he was found in Christ ; that is, whatever he had
done as a believer. And if there be not an opposition in these Avords,
between a righteousness that is our own and that which is not our
own, I know not in what words it can be expressed. Unto the third,
I say, — (1.) The apostle doth not, nor do we say that he doth, call
our inherent righteousness "dung;" but only that he "counts" it so.
(2.) He doth not account it so absolutely, which he is most remote
from ; but only in comparison with Christ. (3.) He doth not esteem
it so in itself; but only as unto his trust in it with respect unto one
especial end, — namely, our justification before God. (4.) The pro-
phet Isaiah, in the same respect, terms all our righteousness " filthy
rags," chap. Ixiv. 6 ; and ^'''^V "'.•?? is an expression of as much con-
tempt as cxiCaXa.
3. Some say all works are excluded as meritorious of grace, life,
and salvation, but not as the condition of our justification before God.
But, — (1.) "Whatever the apostle excludes, he doth it absolutely, and
Avith all respects; because he sets up something else in opposition
unto it. (2.) There is no ground left for any such distinction in this
place: for all that the apostle requires unto our justification is, —
[1.] That we be found in Christ, not in ourselves. [2.] That we
have the righteousness of God, not our own. [3.] That we be made
partakers of this righteousness hy faith; which is the substance of
what we plead for.
S72 ON JUSTIFICATION.
CHAPTER XIX.
Oljections against the doctrine of justification by tlie imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ — Personal holiness and obedience not obstructed, but furthered
by it.
That whicli remaineth to put an issue to this discourse is the con-
sideration of some things that in general are laid in objection against
the truth pleaded for. Many thmgs of that nature we have occa-
sionally met withal, and already removed ; yea, the principal of those
which at present are most insisted on. The testimonies of Scripture
urged by those of the Roman church for justification by works, have
all of them so fully and frequently been answered by Protestant di-
vines, that it is altogether needless to insist again upon them, unless
they had received some new enforcement; which of late they have
not done. That which, for the most part, we have now to do withal
are rather sophistical cavils, from supposed absurd consequences, than
real theological arguments. And some of those who would walk
with most wariness between the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ and justification by our own works, either are in such a slip-
pery place that they seem sometimes to be on the one side, some-
times on the other; or else to express themselves with so much cau-
tion, as it is very difficult to apprehend their minds. I shall not,
therefore, for the future dare to say that this or that is any man's
opinion, though it appear unto me so to be, as clear and evident as
words can express it ; but that this or that opinion, let it be main-
tained by whom it will, I approve or disapprove, this I shall dare to
say. And I will say, also, that the declination that hath been from
the common doctrine of justification before God on the imputation
of the righteousness of Christ, doth daily proceed towards a direct
assertion of justification by works; nor, indeed, hath it where to
rest until it comes unto that bottom. And this is more clearly seen
in the objections which they make against the truth than in what
they plead in defence of their own opinions: for herein they speak
as yet warily, and with a pretence of accuracy in avoiding extremes ;
but in the other, or their objections, they make use of none but what
are easily resolved into a supposition of justification by works in the
grossest sense of it. To insist on all particulars were endless ; and, as
was said, most of those of any importance have already occasionally
been spoken unto. There are, therefore, only two things which are
generally pleaded by all sorts of persons. Papists, Socinians, and
others with whom here we have to do, that I shall take notice of.
The first and fountain of all others is, that the doctrine of justification
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 373
by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ doth render oior
personal righteousness needless, and overthrows all necessity of a
holy life. The other is, that the apostle James, in his epistle, doth
plainly ascribe our justification unto works; and what he affirms there
is inconsistent with that sense of those many other testimonies of
Scripture which we plead for.
For the first of these, although those who oppose the truth we
contend for do proceed on various different and contradictory prin-
ciples among themselves, as to what they exalt in opposition unto it,
yet do they all agree in a vehement urging of it. For those of the
chui-ch of Rome who renewed this charge, invented of old by others,
it must be acknowledged by all sober men, that, as managed by them,
it is an open calumny: for the wisest of them, and those whom it
is hard to conceive but that they knew the contrary, as Bellarmine,
Vasquez, Suarez, do openly aver that Protestant writers deny all in-
herent righteousness (Bellarmine excepts Bucer and Chemnitius);
that they maintain that men may be saved, although they live in all
manner of sin ; that there is no more required of them but that they
believe that their sins are forgiven ; and that whilst they do so, al-
though they give themselves up unto the most sensual vices and
abominations, they may be assured of their salvation.
" Tantum relligio potuit suadere malorum !"
So will men, out of a perverse zeal to promote their own interest
in the religion they profess, wilfully give up themselves unto the
worst of evils, such as false accusation and open calumny ; and of no
other nature are these assertions, which none of the writings or
preachings of those who are so charged did ever give the least coun-
tenance unto. Whether the forging and promulgation of such im-
pudent falsehoods be an expedient to obtain justification by works
in the sight of God, they who continue in them had best consider.
For my part, I say again, as I suppose I have said already, that it is
all one to me what religion men are of who can justify themselves in
such courses and proceedings. And for those among ourselves who
are pleased to make use of this objection, they either know what the
doctrine is which they would oppose, or they do not. If they do
not, the wise man tells them that " he who answereth a matter before
he hear it, it is folly and shame unto him." If they do understand
it, it is evident that they use not sincerity but artifices and false
pretences, for advantage, in their handling of sacred things ; which is
scandalous to religion. Socinus fiercely manageth this charge against
the doctrine of the Reformed churches, De Servat. par. 4, cap. 1 ; and
he made it the foundation whereon, and the reason why, he opposed
the doctrine of the imputation of the satisfaction of Christ, if any
S74 ON JUSTIFICATION.
Buch satisfaction should be allowed ; which yet he peremptorily denies.
And he hath Avritten a treatise unto the same purpose, defended by
Schlichtingius against Meisnerus. And he takes the same honest
course herein that others did before him ; for he chargeth it on the
divines of the Protestant churches, that they taught that God justi-
fieth the ungodly, — not only those that are so, and whilst they are
so, but although they continue so; that they required no inherent
righteousness or holiness in any, nor could do so on thek principles,
seeing the imputed righteousness of Cluist is sufficient for them,
although they live in sin, are not washed nor cleansed, nor do
give up themselves unto the ways of duty and obedience unto God,
whereby he may be pleased, and so bring in libertinism and anti-
nomianism into the church. And he thinks it a sufficient confuta-
tion of this doctrine, to allege against it that " neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers," etc., " shall inherit the kingdom of
God." And these are some of those ways which have rendered the
management of controversies in religion scandalous and abomin-
able, such as no wise or good man will meddle withal, unless com-
pelled for the necessary service of the church; for these things
are openly false, and made use of with a shameful dishonesty, to
promote a corrupt design and end. When I find men at this kind
of work, I have very little concernment in what they say afterward,
be it true or false. Their rule and measure is Avhat serves their own
end, or what may promote the design and interest wherein they are
engaged, be it right or ^vrong. And as for this man, there is not any
article in religion (the principal whereof are rejected by him) on
whose account he doth with more confidence adjudge us unto eter-
nal ruin, than he doth on this of the satisfaction of Christ, and the
imputation of it unto them that do believe. So much darkness is
there remaining on the minds of the most of men, — so many inveterate
prejudices on various occasions axe they pestered withal, especially if
not under the conduct of the same enhghtening Spirit, — that some
will confidently condemn others unto eternal flames for those things
whereon they place, on infallible grounds, their hopes of eternal
blessedness, and know that they love God and live unto him on their
account. But this wretched advantage of condemning all them to
hell who dissent from them is greedily laid hold of by all sorts of
persons, for they thereby secretly secure their o^vn whole party in the
persuasion of eternal salvation, be they otherwise what they will ; for
if the want of that faith which they profess will certainly damn men
whatever else they be, and how good soever their lives be, many will
easily suffer themselves to be deceived with a foolish sophism, that
then that faith which they profess will assuredly save them, be their
lives what they please, considering how it falls in with their inclina-
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. S75
tions. And hereby they may happen also to frighten poor, simple
people into a compliance with them, whilst they peremptorily de-
nounce damnation against them unless they do so. And none, for the
most part, are more fierce in the denunciation of the condemnatory
sentence against others for not believing as they do, than those who
so live as that, if there be any truth in the Scripture, it is not possi-
ble they should be saved themselves. For my part, I believe that, as
to Christians in outward profession, all unregenerate unbelievers who
obey not the gospel shall be damned, be they of what religion they
will, and none else; for all that are bom again, do truly believe
and obey the gospel, shall be saved, be they of what rehgion they
will as unto the differences that are at this day among Christians.
That way wherein these things are most effectually promoted is, in
the first place, to be embraced by every one that takes care of his
own salvation. If they are in any way or church obstructed, that
church or way is, so far as it doth obstruct them, to be forsaken ; and
if there be any way of profession, or any visible church state, where-
in any thing or things absolutely destructive of or inconsistent with
these things are made necessary unto the professors of it, in that way,
and by virtue of it, no salvation is to be obtained. In other things,
every man is to walk according unto the light of his own mind ; for
whatever is not of faith is sin. But I return from this digression,
occasioned by the fierceness of him with whom we have to do.
For the objection itself that hath fallen under so perverse a ma-
nagement, so far as it hath any pretence of sobriety in it, is this and
no other: " If God justify the ungodly merely by his grace, through
faith in Christ Jesus; so as that works of obedience are not antece-
dently necessary unto justification before God, nor are any part of
that righteousness whereon any are so justified, then are they no way
necessary, but men may be justified and saved without them." For
it is said that there is no connection between faith unto justification,
as by us asserted, and the necessity of holiness, righteousness, or obe-
dience, but that we are by grace set at liberty to live as we list ; yea,
in all manner of sin, and yet be secured of salvation : for if we are
made righteous with the righteousness of another, we have no need
of any righteousness of our own. And it were well if many of those
who make use of this plea would endeavour, by some other way, also
to evidence their esteem of these things; for to dispute for the ne-
cessity of holiness, and live in the neglect of it, is uncomely.
I shall be brief in the answer that here shall be returned unto this
objection; for, indeed, it is sufficiently answered or obviated in what
hath been before discoursed concerning the nature of that faith
whereby we are justified, and the continuation of the moral law in
its force, as a rule of obedience unto all believers. An unprejudiced
376 ON JUSTIFICATION.
consideration of what hath been proposed on these heads will evi-
dently manifest the iniquity of this charge, and how not the least
countenance is given unto it by the doctrine pleaded for. Besides, I
must acquaint the reader that, some while since, I have published an
entire discourse concerning the nature and necessity of gospel holi-
ness, with the grounds and reasons thereof, in compliance with the
doctrine of justification that hath now been declared. Nor do I see
it necessary to add any thing thereunto, nor do I doubt but that the
perusal of it will abundantly detect the vanity of this charge. Dis-
pensation of the Holy Spirit, chap, v.^ Some few things may be
spoken on the present occasion; —
1. It is not pleaded that all who do profess, or have in former ages
professed, this doctrine, have exemplified it in a holy and fruitful
conversation. Many, it is to be feared, have been found amongst
them who have lived and died in sin. Neither do I know but that
some have abused this doctrine to countenance themselves in their
sins and neglect of duty. The best of holy things or truths cannot
be secured from abuse, so long as the sophistry of the old serpent
hath an influence on the lusts and depraved minds of men. So was
it with them of old who turned the gTace of God into lasciviousness ;
or, from the doctrine of it, countenanced themselves in their ungodly
deeds. Even from the beginning, the whole doctrine of the gospel,
with the gTace of God declared therein, was so abused. Neither were
all that made profession of it immediately rendered holy and right-
eous thereby. Many from the first so walked as to make it evident
that their belly was their god, and their end destruction. It is one
thing to have only the conviction of truth in our minds; another to
have the power of it in our hearts. The former will only produce an
outward profession ; the latter effect an inward renovation of our
souls. However, I must add three things unto this concession : —
(1.) I am not satisfied that any of those who at present oppose this
doctrine do, in holiness or righteousness, in the exercise of faith, love,
zeal, self-denial, and all other Christian gi'aces, surpass those who, in
the last ages, both in this and other nations, firmly adhered unto it,
and who constantly testified unto that effectual influence which it
had into their walking before God. Nor do I know that any can be
named amongst us, in the former ages, who were eminent in holi-
ness (and many such there were), who did not cordially assent unto
that imputation of the righteousness of Christ which we plead for. I
doubt not in the least but that many who greatly differ from others
in the explication of this doctrine, may be and are eminently holy, at
least sincerely so ; which is as much as the best can pretend unto. But
it is not comely to fuid some others who give very little evidence of
' See " Discourse on the Holy Spirit," vol. iii. of Owen's works.
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 377
their " dilisfent followino; after that holiness without which no man
shall see God," vehemently declaiming against that doctrine as de-
strnctive of holiness, which was so fruitful in it in former days.
(2.) It doth not ajopear as yet, in general, that an attempt to in-
troduce a doctrine contrary unto it hath had any great success in
the reformation of the lives of men. Nor hath personal righteous-
ness or holiness as yet much thrived under the conduct of it, as to
what may be observed. It will be time enough to seek countenance
unto it, by declaiming against that which hath formerly had better
effects, when it hath a little more commended itself by its fruits.
(3.) It were not amiss if this part of the controversy might, amongst
us all, be issued in the advice of the apostle James, chap. ii. 18,
" Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my
faith by my works." Let us all labour that fruits may thus far de-
termine of doctrines, as unto their use unto the interest of righteous-
ness and holiness; for that faith which doth not evidence itself by
works, that hath not this hhiit,iv, this index which James calls for,
whereby it may be found out and examined, is of no use nor consi-
deration herein.
2. The same objection was from the beginning laid against the
doctrine of the apostle Paul, the same charge was managed against
it; which sufficiently argues that it is the same doctrine which is now
assaulted with it. This himself more than once takes notice of, Eom.
iii. 31, " Do we make void the law through faith?" It is an objection
that he anticipates against his doctrine of the free justification of
sinners, through faith in the blood of Christ. And the substance of
the charge included in these words is, that he destroyed the law, took
off all obhgation unto obedience, and brought in Antinomianism. So
again, chap. vi. 1, "What shall we say then? shall we continue in
sin, that grace may abound?" Some thought this the natural and
genuine consequence of what he had largely discoursed conceraing
justification, which he had now fully closed; and some think so still:
" If what he taught concerning the grace of God in our justification
be tnie, it will not only follow that there will be no need of any relin-
quishment of sin on our part, but also a continuance in it must needs
tend unto the exaltation of that grace Avhich he had so extolled."
The same objection he repeats again, verse 15, " What then? shall
we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?" And
in sundry other places doth he obviate the same objection, where he
doth not absolutely suppose it, especially Eph. ii. 9, 10. We have,
therefore, no reason to be surprised with, nor much to be moved at,
this objection and charge; for it is no other but what was insinuated
or managed against the doctruie of the apostle himself, whatever
enforcements are now given it by subtilty of arguing or rhetorical
378 ON JUSTIFICATION.
exaggerations. However, evident it is, that there are naturally in the
minds of men efficacious prejudices against this part of the mystery of
the gospel, which began betimes to manifest themselves, and ceased
not until they had corrupted the whole doctrine of the church herein:
and it were no hard matter to discover the principal of them, were
that our present business; however, it hath in part been done before.
3. It is granted that this doctrine, both singly by itself, or in con-
junction with whatever else concerns the grace of God by Christ
Jesus, is liable unto abuse by them in whom darkness and the love
of sin are predominant; for hence, from the very beginning of our
religion, some fancied unto themselves that a bare assent unto the
gospel was that faith whereby they should be saved, and that they
might be so however they continued to live in sin and a neglect of
all duties of obedience. This is evident from the epistles of John,
James, and Jude, in an especial manner. Against this pernicious
evil we can give no relief, whilst men will love darkness more than
light, because their deeds are evil. And it would be a fond imagina-
tion in any, to think that their modellings of this doctrine after this
manner will prevent future abuse. If they will, it is by rendering it
no part of the gospel; for that which is so was ever liable to be
abused by such persons as we speak of.
These general observations being premised, which are sufficient of
themselves to discard this objection from any place in the minds of
sober men, I shall only add the consideration of what answers the
a,postle Paul returns unto it, with a brief application of them unto
our purpose.
The objection made unto the apostle was, that he made void the
law, that he rendered good works needless ; and that, on the supposi-
tion of his doctrine, men might live in sin unto the advancement of
grace. And as unto his sense hereof we may observe, —
1. That he never returns that answer unto it, no not once, which
some think is the only answer whereby it may be satisfied and re-
moved,— namely, the necessity of our oivn personal righteousness
and obedience or works, in order unto our justification before God.
For that by "faith without works," he understandeth faith and works,
is an unreasonable supposition. If any do yet pretend that he hath
given any such answer, let them produce it ; as yet it hath not been
made to appear. And is it not strange, that if this indeed were his
doctrine, and the contrary a mistake of it, — namely, that our personal
righteousness, holiness, and works, had an influence into our justifi-
cation, and were in any sort our righteousness before God therein, —
that he who, in an eminent manner, every where presseth the necessity
of them, showeth their true nature and use, both in general and in
particular duties of all sorts, above any of the writers of the New
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 879
Testament, should not make use of this truth in answer unto an ob-
jection wherein he was charged to render them all needless and
useless? His doctrine was urged with this objection, as himself ac-
knowledged; and on the account of it rejected by many, Rom. x.
3, 4; Gal. ii. 18. He did see and know that the corrupt lusts and
depraved affections of the minds of many would supply them with
subtle arguings against it ; yea, he did foresee, by the Holy Spirit,
as appeareth in many places of his writings, that it would be per-
verted and abused. And surely it was highly incumbent on him to
obviate what in him lay these evils, and so state his doctrine upon
this objection as that no countenance might ever be given unto it.
And is it not strange that he should not on this occasion, once at
least, somewhere or other, give an intimation that although he re-
jected the works of the law, yet he maintained the necessity of evan-
gelical works, in order unto our justification before God, as the
condition of it, or that whereby we are justified according unto the
gospel ? If this were indeed his doctrine, and that which would so
easily solve this difficulty and answer this objection, as both of them
are by some pretended, certainly neither his wisdom nor his care of
the church under the conduct of the infallible Spirit, would have
suffered him to omit this reply, were it consistent with the truth
which he had delivered. But he is so far from any such plea, that
when the most unavoidable occasion was administered unto it, he not
only waives any mention of it, but in its stead affirms that which
plainly evidenceth that he allowed not of it. See Eph. ii. 9, 10. Hav-
ing positively excluded works from our justification, — " Not of works,
lest any man should boast," — it being natural thereon to inquire,
"To what end do works serve? or is there any necessity of them?"
instead of a distinction of works legal and evangelical in order unto
our justification, he asserts the necessity of the latter on other grounds,
reasons, and motives, manifesting that they were those in particular
which he excluded; as we have seen in the consideration of the place.
Wherefore, — that we may not forsake his pattern and example in the
same cause, seeing he was wiser and holier, knew more of the mind
of God, and had more zeal for personal righteousness and holiness in
the church, than we all, — if we are pressed a thousand times with this
objection, we shall never seek to deliver ourselves from it, by answer-
ing that we allow these things to be the condition or causes of our
justification, or the matter of our righteousness before God, seeing he
would not so do.
2. We may observe, that in his answer unto this objection, whether
expressly mentioned or tacitly obviated, he insisteth not any^vhere
upon the common principle of moral duties, but on those motives
and reasons of holiness, obedience, good works alone, which are
380 ON JUSTIFICATION.
peculiar uuto believers. For the question was not, whether all man-
kind were obliged unto obedience unto God, and the duties thereof,
by the moral law? but, whether there were an obligation from the
gospel upon believers unto righteousness, holiness, and good works,
such as was suited to affect and constrain their minds unto them ?
Nor will we admit of any other state of the question but this only:
whether, upon the supposition of our gratuitous justification through
the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, there are in the gospel
grounds, reasons, and motives, making necessary, and efficaciously
influencing the minds of believers unto obedience and good works?
For those who are not believers, we have nothing to do with them in
this matter, nor do plead that evangelical grounds and motives are
suited or effectual to work them unto obedience: yea, we know the
contrary, and that they are apt both to despise them and abuse them.
See 1 Cor. i. 23, 24; 2 Cor. iv. 4. Such persons are under the law,
and there we leave them unto the authority of God in the moral law.
But that the apostle doth confine his inquiry unto believers, is evi-
dent in every place wherein he raaketh mention of it : Rom. vi. 2, 3,
" How shall we, that are dead unto sin, live any longer therein ?
Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ,"
etc.; Eph. ii. 10, " For we are the workmanship of God, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works." Wherefore, we shall not at all con-
tend what cogency unto duties of holiness there is in gospel motives
and reasons unto the minds of imbelievers, whatever may be the
truth in that case ; but what is their power, force, and efficacy, towards
them that truly believe.
3. The answers which the apostle returns positively unto this ob-
jection, wherein he declares the necessity, nature, ends, and use of
evangelical righteousness and good works, are large and many, com-
prehensive of a great part of the doctrine of the gospel. I shall only
mention the heads of some of them, which are the same that we plead
in the vindication of the same truth : —
(1.) He pleads the ordination, of God: " God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them," Eph. ii. 10. God hath designed, in
the disposal of the order of the causes of salvation, that those who
believe in Christ should live in, walk in, abound in good works, and
all duties of obedience unto God. To this end are precepts, direc-
tions, motives, and encouragements, everywhere multiplied in the
Scripture. Wherefore, we say that good works, — and that as they
include the gradual progressive renovation of our natures, our growth
and increase in grace, with fruitfulness in our lives, — are necessary
from the ordination of God, from his will and command. And what
need there any farther dispute about the necessity of good works
among them that know what it is to believe, or what respect there
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 381
is in the souls and consciences of believers unto tlie commands of
God?
"But what force/' say some, "is in this command or ordination of
God, when notwithstanding it, and if we do not apply ourselves unto
obedience, we shall be justified by the imputation of the righteous-
ness of Christ, and so maybe saved without them?" I say, — First,
as was before observed. That it is believers alone concerning whom
this inquiry is made ; and there is none of them but will judge this a
most unreasonable and senseless objection, as that which ariseth from
an utter ignorance of their state and relation unto God. To suppose
that the minds of believers are not as much and as effectually influ-
enced with the authority and commands of God unto duty and obe-
dience, as if they were all given in order unto their justification, is to
consider neither what faith is, nor what it is to be a believer, nor
what is the relation that we stand in unto God by faith in Christ
Jesus, nor what are the arguments or motives wherewith the minds
of such persons are principally affected and constrained. This is the
answer which the apostle gives at large unto this exception, Rom. vi.
2, 3. Secondly, The whole fallacy of this exception is, — First, In
separating the things that God hath made inseparable; these are,
our justification and our sanctification. To suppose that the one of
these may be without the other, is to overthrow the whole gospel.
Secondly, In compounding those things that are distinct, — namely,
justification and eternal actual salvation ; the respect of works and
obedience being not the same unto them both, as hath been declared.
Wherefore, this imagination, that the commands of God unto duty,
however given, and unto what ends soever, are not equally obligatory
unto the consciences of believers, as if they were aU given in order
unto their justification before God, is an absurd figment, and which
all of them who are truly so defy. Yea, they have a greater power
upon them than they could have if the duties required in them were
in order to their justification, and so were antecedent thereunto; for
thereby they must be supposed to have then* efficacy upon them
before they truly believe. For to say that a man may be a true be-
liever, or truly believe, in answer unto the commands of the gospel,
and not be thereon in the same instant of time absolutely justified,
is not to dispute about any point of religion, but plainly to deny the
whole truth of the gospel. But it is faith alone that gives power
and efficacy unto gospel commands effectually to influence the soul
unto obedience. Wherefore, this obligation is more powerfully con-
straining as they are given unto those that are justified, than if they
were given them in order unto their justification.
(2.) The apostle answers, as we do also, " Do we then make void
the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." For
38 2 ON JUSTIFICATION.
although the law is principally established in and by the obedience
and sufferings of Christ, Rom. viii. 3, 4, x. 3, 4, yet is it not, by the
doctrine of faith and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ
unto the justification of life, made void as unto believers. Neither
of these doth exempt them from that obligation unto universal obedi-
ence which is prescribed in the law. They are still obliged by virtue
thereof to " love the Lord their God with all their hearts, and their
neighbours as themselves." They are, indeed, freed from the law,
and all its commands unto duty as it abides in its first consideration,
" Do this, and live;" the opposite whereunto is, " Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things written in the law to do them."
For he that is under the obligation of the law, in order unto justifica-
tion and life, falls inevitably under the curse of it upon the supposi-
tion of any one transgi'ession. But we are made free to give obedience
unto it on gospel motives, and for gospel ends; as the apostle declares
at large, chap. vi. And the obligation of it is such unto all believers
as that the least transgression of it hath the nature of sin. But are
they hereon bound over by the law unto everlasting punishment? or,
as some phrase it, " will God damn them that transgress the law?"
without which all this is nothing. I ask, again, what they think
hereof; and upon a supposition that he will do so, what they farther
think will become of themselves ? For my part, I say, No ; even as
the apostle saith, " There is no condemnation unto them that are in
Christ Jesus." "Where, then," they will say, " is the necessity of obe-
dience from the obligation of the law, if God will not damn them that
transgress it ?" And I say, It were well if some men did understand
what they say in these things, or would learn, for a while at least, to
hold their peace. The law equally requires obedience in all instances
of duty, if it require any at all. As unto its obligatory power, it is
capable neither of dispensation nor relaxation, so long as the essen-
tial differences of good and evil do remain. If, then, none can be
obliged unto duty by virtue of its commands, but that they must on
every transgression fall under its curse, either it obligeth no one at
all, or no one can be saved. But although we are freed from the
curse and condemning power of the law by Him who hath made an
end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness; yet, whilst we
are " viatores," in order unto the accomplishment of God's design
for the restoration of his image in us, we are obliged to endeavour
after all that holiness and righteousness which the law requires
of us.
(3.) The apostle answereth this objection, by discovering the ne-
cessary relation that faith hath unto the death of Christ, the grace
of God, with the nature of sanctification, excellency, use, and advan-
tage of gospel holiness, and the end of it in God's appointment.
OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. S83
This he doth at large in the whole sixth chapter of the Epistle to
the Romans, and that with this immediate design, to show the con-
sistency of justification by faith alone with the necessity of personal
righteousness and holiness. The due pleading of these things would
require a just and full exposition of that chapter, wherein the apostle
hath comprised the chief springs and reasons of evangelical obedience.
I shall only say, that those unto whom the reasons of it, and motives
unto it, therein expressed, — which are all of them compliant with the
doctrine of justification by the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ, — are not effectual unto their own personal obedience, and do
not demonstrate an indispensable necessity of it, are so unacquainted
with the gospel, the nature of faith, the genius and inclination of the
new creature (for, let men scoff on whilst they please, " he that is in
Christ Jesus is a new creature"), the constraining efficacy of the grace
of God, and love of Christ, of the economy of God in the disposition
of the causes and means of our salvation, as I shall never trouble
myself to contend with them about these things.
Sundry other considerations I thought to have added unto the
same purpose, and to have showed, — 1. That to prove the necessity
of inherent righteousness and holiness, Ave make use of the argu-
ments which are suggested unto us in the Scripture. 2. That we
make use of all of them in the sense wherein, and unto the ends
for which, they are urged therein, in perfect compliance with what
we teach concerning justification. 3. That all the pretended argu-
inents or motives for and unto evangelical holiness, which are incon-
sistent with the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, do indeed
obstruct it and evert it. 4. That the holiness which we make neces-
sary unto the salvation of them that believe is of a more excellent,
sublime, and heavenly nature, in its causes, essence, operations, and
effects, than what is allowed or believed by the most of those by
whom the doctrine of justification is opposed. 5. That the holiness
and righteousness which is pleaded for by the Socinians and those
that follow them, doth in nothing exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees; nor upon their principles can any man go
beyond them. But whereas this discourse hath already much ex-
ceeded my first intention, and that, as I said before, I have already
at large treated on the doctrine of the nature and necessity of evan-
gelical holiness, I shall at present omit the farther handling of these
things, and acquiesce in the answers given by the apostle unto this
objection.
384 ON JUSTIFICATIOX.
CHAPTER XX.
The doctrine of the apostle James concerning faith and works — ^Its agreement
with that of St Paul.
The seeming difference that is between the aj)ostles Paul and James
in what they teach concerning faith, works, and justification, requires
our consideration of it ; for many do take advantage, from some words
and expressions used by the latter, directly to oppose the doctrine
fidly and plainly declared by the /orwer. But whatever is of that
nature pretended, hath been so satisfactorily already answered and
removed by others, as that there is no great need to treat of it again.
And although I suppose that there will not be an end of contending
and writing in these causes, whilst we " know but in part, and pro-
phesy but in part;" yet I must say that, in my judgment, the usual
solution of this appearing difficulty, — securing the doctrine of justifi-
cation by faith, through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ,
from any concernment or contradiction in the discourse of St James,
chap. ii. 14, to the end, — hath not been in the least impeached, nor
hath had any new difficulty put upon it, in some late discourses to that
purpose. I should, therefore, utterly forbear to speak any thing
thereof, but that I suppose it will be expected in a discourse of this
nature, and do hope that I also may contribute some light unto the
clearing and vindication of the truth. To this purpose it may be
observed, that, — ]. It is taken for granted, on all hands, that there is
no real repugnancy or contradiction between what is delivered by
these two apostles; for if that were so, the writings of one of them
must be pseudepistolae, or falsely ascribed unto them whose names
they bear, and uncanonical, — as the authority of the Epistle of James
hath been by some, both of old and of late, highly but rashly ques-
tioned. Wherefore, their words are certainly capable of a just recon-
ciliation. That we cannot any of ns attain thereunto, or that we do
not agree therein, is from the darkness of our own minds, the weakness
of our understandings, and, with too many, from the power of pre-
judices.
2. It is taken also for granted, on all other occasions, tliat when
there is an appearance of repugnancy or contradiction in any places
of Scripture, if some, or any of them, do treat directly, designedly,
and largely about the matter concerning which there is a seeming
repugnancy or contradiction; and others, or any other, speak of the
same things only " obiter," occasionally, transiently, in order unto
other ends; the truth is to be learned, stated, and fixed from the
former places : or the interpretation of those places wdiere any truth
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 385
is mentioned only occasionally with reference unto otlier things or
ends, is, as unto that truth, to be taken from and accommodated unto
those other places wherein it is the design and purpose of the holy
j^enman to declare li for its own sake, and to guide the faith of the
church therein. And there is not a more rational and natural rule
of the interpretation of Scripture among all them which are by com-
mon consent agreed upon.
3. According unto this rule, it is unquestionable that the doctrine
of justification before God is to be learned from the writings of the
apostle Paul, and from them is light to be taken into all other places
of Scripture where it is occasionally mentioned. Especially it is so,
considering how exactly this doctrine represents the whole scope of
the Scripture, and is witnessed unto by particular testimonies occa-
sionally given unto the same truth, without number: for it must be
acknowledged that he wrote of this subject of our justification before
God, on purpose to declare it for its own sake, and its use in the
church; and that he doth it fully, largely, and frequently, in a con-
stant harmony of expressions. And he owns those reasons that pressed
him unto fulness and accuracy herein, — (1.) The importance of the
doctrine itself This he declares to be such as that thereon our sal-
vation doth immediately depend ; and that it was the hinge whereon
the whole doctrine of the gospel did turn, — " Articulus stantis aut
cadentis ecclesise," Gal. ii. 16-21, v. 4, 5. (2.) The plausible and
dangerous opposition that was then made unto it. This was so man-
aged, and that with such specious pretences, as that very many were
prevailed on and turned from the truth by it (as it was with the Ga-
latians), and many detained from the faith of the gospel out of a dis-
like unto it, Rom. x. 3, 4. What care and diligence this require th in
the declaration of any truth, is sufficiently known unto them who are
acquainted with these things ; what zeal, care, and circumspection it
stirred up the apostle unto, is manifest in all his writings. (3.) The
abuse which the corrupt natm'e of man is apt to put upon this doc-
trine of grace, and which some did actually pervert it unto. This
also himself takes notice of, and thoroughly vindicates it from giving
the least countenance unto such wi'estings and impositions. Cer-
tainly, never was there a greater necessity incumbent on any person
fully and plainly to teach and declare a doctrine of truth, than was
on him at that time in his circumstances, considering the place and
duty that he was called unto. And no reason can be imagined why
we should not principally, and in the first place, learn the truth herein
from his declaration and vindication of it, if withal we do indeed be-
lieve that he was divinely inspned, and divinely guided to reveal the
truth for the information of the church.
As unto what is delivered by the apostle James, so far as our jus-
VOL. V. 25
386 ON JUSTIFICATION.
tification is included therein, things are quite otherwise. He doth
not undertake to declare the doctrine of our justification before God;
but having another design in hand, as we shall see immediately, he
vindicates it from the abuse that some in those days had put it unto,
as other doctrines of the grace of God, which they turned into licen-
tiousness. Wherefore, it is from the writings of the apostle Paul
that we are principally to learn the truth in this matter; and unto
what is by him plainly declared is the interpretation of other places
to be accommodated.
4. Some of late are not of this mind ; they contend earnestly that
Paul is to be interpreted by James, and not on the contrary. And
unto this end they tell us that the writings of Paul are obscure, that
sundry of the ancients take notice thereof, that many take occasion
of errors from them, with sundry things of an alike nature, indeed
scandalous to Christian religion ; and that James, writing after him,
is presumed to give an interpretation unto his sayings ; which are
therefore to be expounded and understood according unto that inter-
pretation. Ans. Fhst, As to the vindication of the writings of St
Paul, which begin now to be frequently reflected on with much
severity (which is one effect of the secret prevalency of the Atheism
of these days), as there is no need of it, so it is designed for a more
proper place. Only I know not how any person that can pretend
the least acquaintance with antiquity, can plead a passage out of
Irenasus, wherein he was evidently himself mistaken, or a rash word
of Origen, or the like, in derogation from the perspicuity of the
writings of this apostle, when they cannot but know how easy it
were to overwhelm them with testimonies unto the contrary from all
the famous writers of the church in several ages. And as (for instance
in one) Chrysostom in forty places gives an account why some men
understood not his writings, which in themselves were so gloriously
evident and perspicuous; so for their satisfaction, I shall refer them
only unto the preface unto his exposition of his epistles : of which
kind they will be directed unto more in due season. But he needs
not the testimony of men, nor of the whole church together, whose
safety and security it is to be built on that doctrine which he taught.
In the meantime, it would not be unpleasant to consider (but that
the perverseness of the minds of men is rather a real occasion of
sorrow) how those who have the same design do agree in their con-
ceptions about his writings : for some will have it, that if not all, yet
the most of his epistles were "written against the Gnostics, and in the
confutation of their error ; others, that the Gnostics took the occasion
of their errors from his writings. So bold will men make with things
divine to satisfy a present interest.
Secondly, This was not the judgment of the ancient church for
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 387
three or four huncU'ed years ; for whereas the epistles of Paul were
always esteemed the principal treasure of the church, the great guide
and rule of the Christian faith, this of James was scarce received as
canonical by many, and doubted of by the most, as both Eusebius
and Jerome do testify.
Thirdly, The design of the apostle James is not at all to explain
the meaning of Paul in his epistles, as is pretended ; but only to vin-
dicate the doctrine of the gospel from the abuse of such as used their
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, and, turning the gTace of God
into lasciviousness, continued in sin, under a pretence that gi'ace had
abounded unto that end.
Fourthly, The apostle Paul doth himself, as we have declared,
vindicate his own doctrine from such exceptions and abuses as men
either made at it, or turned it into. Nor have we any other doc-
trine in his epistles than what he preached all the world over, and
whereby he laid the foundation of Christian religion, especially
among the Gentiles.
These things being premised, I shall briefly evidence that there is
not the least repugnancy or contradiction between what is declared
by these two apostles as unto our justification, with the causes of
it. And this I shall do, — 1. By some general considerations of the
nature and tendency of both their discourses. 2. By a particular
explication of the context in that of St James. And under the first
head I shall manifest, — (1.) That they have not the same scope,
design, or end, in their discourses; that they do not consider the
same question, nor state the same case, nor deteraiine on the same
inquiry ; and therefore, not speaking " ad idem," unto the same thing,
do not contradict one another. (2.) That as faith is a word of various
signification in the Scripture, and doth, as we have proved before,
denote that which is of diverse kinds, they speak not of the same
faith, or faith of the same kind ; and therefore there can be no con-
tradiction in what the one ascribes unto it and the other derogates
from it, seeing they speak not of the same faith. (3.) That they do
not speak of justification in the same sense, nor with respect unto
the same ends. (4.) That as unto works, they both intend the same,
— namely, the works of obedience unto the moral law.
(1.) As to the scope and design of the apostle Paul, the question
which he auswereth, the case which he proposeth and determines
upon, are manifest in all his writings, especially his Epistles unto the
Romans and Galatians. The whole of his purpose is, to declare how
a guilty, convinced sinner comes, through faith in the blood of Christ,
to have all his sins pardoned, to be accepted with God, and obtain a
right unto the heavenly inheritance ; that is, be acquitted and justi-
fied in the sight of God. And as the doctrine hereof belonged emi-
388 ON JUSTIFICATION.
nently unto the gospel, Avhose revelation and declaration unto the
Gentiles was in a peculiar manner committed unto him; so, as we
have newly observed, he had an especial reason to insist much upon
it from the opposition that was made unto it by the Jews and judaiz-
ing Christians, who ascribed this privilege unto the law, and our own
works of obedience in compliance therewithal. This is the case he
states, this the question he determines, in all his discourses about
justification; and in the explication thereof declares the nature and
causes of it, as also vindicates it from all exceptions. For whereas
men of corrupt minds, and willing to indulge unto their lusts (as all
men naturally desire nothing but what God hath made eternally
inconsistent, — namely, that they may live in sin here, and come to
blessedness hereafter), might conclude that if it were so as he declared,
that we are justified freely, through the grace of God, by the imputa-
tion of a righteousness that originally and inherently is not our own,
then was there no more required of us, no relinquishment of sin,
no attendance unto the duties of righteousness and holiness; he ob-
viates such impious suggestions, and shows the inconsequence of them
on the doctrine that he taught. But this he doth not do in any place
by intimating or granting that our own works of obedience or righte-
ousness are necessary unto, or have any causal influence into, our
justification before God. Had there been a truth herein, were not a
supposition thereof really inconsistent with the whole of his doctrine,
and destructive of it, he would not have omitted the plea of it, nor
ought so to have done, as we have showed. And to suppose that
there was need that any other should explain and vindicate his doc-
trine from the same exceptions which he takes notice of, by such a
plea as he himself would not make use of, but rejects, is foolish and
impious.
The apostle James, on the other hand, had no such scope or de-
sign, or any such occasion for what he wrote in this matter. He doth
not inquire, or give intimation of any such inquiry; he doth not
state the case how a guilty, convinced sinner, whose mouth is stopped
as unto any plea or excuse for himself, may come to be justified in
the sight of God; that is, receive the pardon of sins and the gift of
righteousness unto life. To resolve this question into our own works,
is to overthrow the whole gospel. But he had in hand a business
quite of another nature ; for, as we have said, there were many in
those days who professed the Christian religion, or faith in the gos-
pel, whereon they presumed that as they were already justified, so
there was nothing more needful imto them that they might be
saved. A desirable estate they thought they had attained, suited
unto all the interest of the flesh, whereby they might live in sin and
neglect of all duty of obedience, and yet be eternally saved. Some
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 389
suppose that this pernicious conceit was imbibed by them from the
poisonous opinions that some had then divulged, according as the
apostle Paul foretold that it would come to pass, 2 Tim. iv, 1-4 : for
it is generally conceived that Simon Magus and his followers had by
this time infected the minds of many with their abominations; and
amongst them this was one, and not the least pernicious, that by
faith was intended a liberty from the law and unto sin, or unto them
that had it, the taking away of all difference between good and evil ;
which was afterward improved by Basilides, Valentinus, and the rest
of the Gnostics. Or, it may be, it was only the corruption of men's
hearts and lives that prompted them to seek after such a countenance
vinto sin. And this latter I judge it was. There were then among
professed Christians, such as the world now swarms withal, who sup-
pose that their faith, or the religion which they profess, be it what it
will, shall save them, although they live in flagitious wickedness, and
are utterly barren as unto any good works or duties of obedience.
Nor is there any other occasion of what he writes intimated in the
epistle ; for he makes no mention of seducers, as John doth expressly
and frequently, some while after. Against this sort of persons, or for
their conviction, he designs two things, — First, In general, to prove
the necessity of works unto all that profess the gospel or faith in
Christ thereby. Second, To evidence the vanity and folly of their
pretence unto justification, or that they were justified and should be
saved by that faith that was indeed so far from being fruitful in good
works, as that it was pretended by them only to countenance them-
selves in sin. Unto these ends are all his arguings designed, and no
other. He proves effectually that the faith which is wholly barren and
fruitless as unto obedience, and [by] which men pretended to counte-
nance themselves in their sins, is not that faith whereby we are justi-
fied, and whereby we may be saved, but a dead carcase, of no use
nor benefit ; as he declares by the conclusion of his whole dispute, in
the last verse of the chapter. He doth not direct any how they may be
justified before God, but convinceth some that they are not justified
by trusting unto such a dead faith ; and declares the only way whereby
any man may really evidence and manifest that he is so justified
indeed. This design of his is so plain as nothing can be more evi-
dent ; and they miss the whole scope of the apostle who observe it
not in their expositions of the context. Wherefore, the principal
design of the apostles being so distant, there is no repugnancy in
their assertions, though their words make an appearance thereof; for
they do not speak " ad idem," nor of things " eodem respectu."
James doth not once inquire hoAV a guilty, convinced sinner, cast and
condemned by the law, may come to be justified before God ; and
Paul speaks to nothing else. Wherefore, apply the expressions of
390 ON JUSTIFICATION.
each of them unto their proper design and scope, — as we must do, or
we depart from all sober rules of interpretation, and render it im-
possible to understand either of them aright, — and there is no dis-
agi-eeraent, or appearance of it, between them.
(2.) They speak not of the same faith. Wherefore, there can he
no discrepancy in what one ascribes unto faith and the other denies
concerning it, seeing they understand not the same thing thereby;
for they speak not of the same faith. As if one affirms that fire
will burn, and another denieth it, there is no contradiction between
them, whilst one intends real fire, and the other only that which is
painted, and both declare themselves accordingly. For we have
proved before that there are two sorts of faith wherewith men are said
to believe the gospel, and make profession thereof; as also that that
which belongs unto the one doth not belong unto the other. None, I
suppose, will deny but that by "faith," in the matter of our justifica-
tion, St Paul intends that which is xvpiog, or properly so called. The
" faith of God's elect," " precious faith," " more precious than gold,"
" the faith that purifieth the heart, and worketh by love," " the faith
whereby Christ dwelleth in us, and we abide in him, whereby we live
to God," " a living faith," is that alone which he intend eth. For all
these things, and other spiritual effects without number, doth he
ascribe unto that faith which he insisteth on, to be on our part the
only means of our justification before God. But as unto the faith
intended by the apostle James, he assigns nothing of all this unto it;
yea, the only argument whereby he proves that men cannot be saved
by that faith which he treats of, is that nothing of all this is found
in it. That which he intends is, what he calls it, a dead faith, a
carcase without breath, the faith of devils, a wordy faith, that is
no more truly what it is called, than it is true charity to send away
naked and hungry persons without relief, but not without derision.
Well may he deny justification in any sense unto this faith, however
boasted of, when yet it may be justly ascribed unto that faith which
Paul speaks of
Bellarmine useth several arguments to prove that the faith here
intended by James 'is justifying faith considered in itself; but they
are all weak to contempt, as being built on this supposition, that true
justifying faith is nothing but a real assent unto the catholic doctrine
or divine revelation: De Justificat. lib. i. cap. 15. His first is, " That
James calleth it ' faith' absolutely, whereby always in the Scripture
true faith is intended." Ans. 1. James calls it a dead faith, the
faith of devils, and casteth all manner of reproach upon it; which
he would not have done on any duty or grace truly evangelical.
2. Every faith that is true as unto the reality of assent which is given
by it unto the truth, is neither living, justifying, nor saving; as hath
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 391
been proved. 3. They are said to have faith absolutely, or absolutely
to believe, who never had that faith which is true and saving, John
ii. 23; Acts viii. 13. Secondly, He urgeth, " That in the same place
and chapter he treats of the faith of Abraham, and affirms that it
wrought with his works, chap. ii. 22, 23; but this a vain shadow of
faith doth not do : it was therefore true faith, and that which is most
properly called so, that the apostle intendeth." Ans. This pretence
is indeed ridiculous; for the apostle doth not give the faith of Abra-
ham as an instance of that faith which he had treated with so mucli
severity, but of that which is directly contrary unto it, and whereby
he designed to prove that the other faith which he had reflected on
was of no use nor advantage unto them that had it; for this faith of
Abraham produced good works, which the other was wholly without.
Thirdly, He urgeth verse 24, " 'Ye see then how that by works a
man is justified, and not by faith only;' for the faith that James
speaks of justifieth with works, but a false faith, the shadow of a faith,
doth not so : it is therefore true, saving faith whereof the apostle
speaks." Ans. He is utterly mistaken: for the apostle doth not as-
cribe justification partly to works, and partly to faith ; but he ascribes
justification, in the sense by him intended, wholly to works, in oppo-
sition to that faith concerning which he treats. For there is a plain
antithesis in the words between works and faith as unto justification,
in the sense by him intended. A dead faith, a faith without works,
the faith of devils, is excluded from having any influence into justifi-
cation. Fourthly, He adds, " That the apostle compares this faith
without works unto a rich man that gives nothing unto the poor,
verse 16; and a body without a spirit, verse 26: wherefore, as that
knowledge whereby a rich man knows the wants of the poor is true
and real, and a dead body is a body ; so is faith without works true
faith also, and as such is considered by St James." Ans. These
things do evidently destroy what they are produced in the confirma-
tion of, only the cardinal helps them out with a little sophistry; for
whereas the apostle compares this faith unto the charity of a man
that gives nothing to the poor, he suggests in the room thereof his
knowledge of their poverty. And his knowledge may be true, and the
more true and certain it is, the more false and feigned is the charity
winch he pretends in these words, " Go, and be fed and clothed."
Such is the faith the apostle speaks of. And although a dead body
is a true body, — that is, as unto the matter or substance of it, a car-
case,— yet is it not an essential part of a living man. A carcase is
not of the same nature or kind as is the body of a living man. And
we assert no other difference between the faith spoken of by the
apostle and that which is justifying, than what is between n dead,
breathless carcase, and a living animated body, prepared and fitted
392 ON JUSTIFICATION.
for all vital acts. Wherefore, it is evident beyond all contradiction,
if we have not a mind to be contentious, that what the apostle James
here derogates from faith as unto our justification, it respects only a
dead, barren, lifeless faith, such as is usually pretended by ungodly
men to countenance themselves in their sins. And herein the faith
asserted by Paul hath no concern. The consideration of the present
condition of the profession of faith in the world, will direct us unto
the best exposition of this place.
(3.) They speak not of justification in the same sense nor unto the
same end; it is of our absolute justification before God, — the justifi-
cation of our persons, our acceptance with him, and the grant of a
right unto the heavenly inheritance, — that the apostle Paul doth treat,
and thereof alone. This he declares in all the causes of it ; all that
on the part of God, or on our part, concurreth thereunto. The evi-
dence, the knowledge, the sense, the fruit, the manifestation of it in
our own consciences, in the church, unto others that profess the faith,
he treats not of; but speaks of them separately as they occur on other
occasions. The justification he treats of is but one, and at once ac-
complished before God, changing the relative state of the person jus-
tified ; and is capable of being evidenced various ways, unto the glory
of God and the consolation of them that truly believe. Hereof the
apostle James doth not treat at all; for his whole inquiry is after the
nature of that faith whereby we are justified, and the only way
whereby it may be evidenced to be of the right kind, such as a man
may safely trust unto. Wherefore, he treats of justification only as
to the evidence and manifestation of it; nor had he any occasion to
do otherwise. And this is apparent from both the instances whereby
he confirms his purpose. The first is that of Abraham, verse 21-23 :
for he says, that by Abraham's being justified by works, in the way
and manner wherein he asserts him so to have been, " the Scripture
was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was im-
puted unto him for righteousness." And if his intention were to
prove that we are justified before God by works, and not by faith,
because Abraham was so, the testimony produced is contrary, yea,
directly contradictory, unto what should be proved by it ; and accord-
ingly is alleged by Paul to prove that Abraham was justified by faith
without works, as the words do plainly import. Nor can any man
declare how the truth of this proposition, " Abraham was justified by
works," (intending absolute justification before God,) was that where-
in that Scripture was fulfilled, " Abraham believed God, and it was im-
puted unto him for righteousness;" especially considering the oppo-
sition that is made both here and elsewhere between faith and works
in this matter. Besides, he asserts that Abraham was justified by
Avorks then when he had offered his son on the altar ; the same we
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 393
believe also, but only inquire in what sense he was so justified : for it
was thirty years or thereabout after it was testified concerning him that
" he believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness;"
and when righteousness was imputed unto him he was justified; and
tmce justified in the same sense, in the same way, with the same
kind of justification, he was not. How, then, was he justified by
works when he offered his son on the altar? He that can conceive
it to be any otherwise but that he was by his work, in the offering
of his son, evidenced and declared in the sight of God and man
to be justified, apprehends what I cannot attain unto, seeing that
he was really justified long before; as is unquestionable and con-
fessed by all. He was, I say, then justified in the sight of God in
the way declared, Gen. xxii. 12; and gave a signal testimony unto
the sincerity of his faith and trust in God, manifesting the truth of
that Scripture, *' He believed God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness." And, in the quotation of this testimony, the apostle
openly acknowledgeth that he was really accounted righteous, had
righteousness imputed unto him, and was justified before God (the
reasons and causes whereof he therefore considereth not), long before
that justification which he ascribes unto his works; which, therefore,
can be nothing but the evidencing, proving, and manifestation of it :
whence also it appears of what nature that faith is whereby we are
justified, the declaration whereof is the principal design of the apostle.
In brief, the Scripture alleged, that "Abraham believed, and it was
imputed unto him for righteousnes.s," was fulfilled when he was justi-
fied by works on the offering of his son on the altar, either by the
imputation of righteousness mito him, or by a real efficiency or work-
ing righteousness in him, or by the manifestation and evidence of
his former justification, or some other way must be found out. First,
That it was not by imputation, or that righteousness unto the justi-
fication of life was not then first imputed imto him, is plain in the
text ; for it was so imputed unto him long before, and that in such a
way as the apostle proves thereby that righteousness is imputed with-
out works. Secondly, That he was not justified by a real efficiency
of a habit of righteousness in him, or by any way of making him in-
herently righteous who was before unrighteous, is plain also ; because
he was riohteous in that sense loncj before, and had abounded in the
works of righteousness unto the praise of God. It remains, therefore,
that then, and by the work mentioned, he was justified as unto the
evidencing and manifestation of his faith and justification thereon.
His other instance is of Raliab ; concerning whom he asserts that she
was "justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and
sent them away." But she received the spies " by faith," as the Holy
Ghost witnesseth, Heb. xi. 31 ; and therefore had true faith before
394 ON JUSTIFICATION.
their coming; and if so was really justified: for that any one should
be a true believer and yet not be justified, is destructive unto the
foundation of the gospel. In this condition she received the mes-
sensrers, and made unto them a full declaration of her faith, Josh.
ii 9-11. After her believing and justification thereon, and after
the confession she had made of her faith, she exposed her life by
concealing and sending of them away. Hereby did she justify the
sincerity of her faith and confession ; and in that sense alone is said
to be "justified by works." And in no other sense doth the apostle
James, in this place, make mention of justification ; which he doth also
only occasionally.
(4.) As unto "works," mentioned by both apostles, the same works
are intended, and there is no disagreement in the least about them ; for
as the apostle James intends by works duties of obedience unto God,
according to the law, — as is evident from the whole first part of the
chapter, which gives occasion unto the discourse of faith and works, —
so the same are intended by the apostle Paul also, as we have proved
before. And as unto the necessity of them in all believers, as unto
other ends, so as evidences of their faith and justification, it is no less
pressed by the one than the other ; as hath been declared.
These things being in general premised, we may observe some
things in particular from the discourse of the apostle James, suffi-
ciently evidencing that there is no contradiction therein unto what is
delivered by the apostle Paul concerning our justification by faith,
and the imputation of righteousness without works, nor to the doc-
trine which from him we have learned and declared ; as, — 1. He makes
no composition or conjunction between faith and works in our justi-
fication, but opposeth them the one to the other; asserting the one
and rejecting the other, in order unto our justification. 2. He makes
no distinction of a first and second justification, of the beginning and
continuation of justification, but speaks of one justification only; which
is our first personal justification before God. Neither are we con-
cerned in any other justification in this cause whatever. 3. That he
ascribes this justification luholly unto works, in contradistinction unto
faith, as unto that sense of justification which he intended, and the
faith whereof he treated. Wherefore, — 4. He doth not at all in-
quire or determine how a sinner is justified before God, but how pro-
fessors of the gospel can prove or demonstrate that they are so, and
that they do not deceive themselves by trusting unto a lifeless and
barren faith. All these things will be farther evidenced in a brief con-
sideration of the context itself; wherewith I shall close this discourse.
In the beginning of the chapter unto verse 14, he reproves those
unto whom he wrote for many sins committed against the law, the
rule of their sins and obedience, or at least wameth them of them;
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 395
and having showed the danger they were in hereby, he discovers
the root and principal occasion of it, verse 14; which was no other
but a vain surmise and deceiving presumption that the faith required
in the gospel was nothing but a bare assent unto the doctrine of it,
, whereon they were delivered from all obligation unto moral obedi-
ence or good works, and might, without any danger unto their eter-
nal state, live in whatever sins their lusts inclined them unto, chap,
iv. 1-4, v. 1-6. The state of such persons, which contains the whole
cause which he speaks unto, and which gives rule and measure unto
the interpretation of all his future arguings, is laid down, verse 14,
" What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith,
and have not works? can faith save him?" Suppose a man, any one
of those who are guilty of the sins charged on them in the foregoing
verses, do yet say, or boast of himself, that he hath faith; that he
makes profession of the gospel ; that he hath left either Judaism or
Paganism, and betaken himself to the faith of the gospel ; and there-
fore, although he be destitute of good works and live in sin, he is
accepted with God, and shall be saved; — will, indeed, this faith save
him? This, therefore, is the question proposed, — Whereas the gospel
saith plainly, that " he who believeth shall be saved," whether that
faith which may and doth consist with an indulgence unto sin, and
a neglect of duties of obedience, is that faith whereunto the promise
of life and salvation is annexed? And thereon the inquiry proceeds,
How any man, — in particular, he who says he hath faith, — may prove
and evidence himself to have that faith which will secure his salva-
tion? And the apostle denies that this is such a faith as can consist
without works, or that any man can evidence himself to have true
faith any otherwise but by works of obedience only; and in the proof
hereof doth his whole ensuing discourse consist. Not once doth he
propose unto consideration the means and causes of the justification
of a convinced sinner before God, nor had he any occasion so to do;
so that his words are openly wrested when they are applied unto any
such intention.
That the faith which he intends and describes is altogether useless
unto the end pretended to be attainable by it, — namely, salvation, —
he proves in an instanco of, and by comparing it with, the love or
charity of an alike nature, verses 15, 16, " If a brother or sister be
naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, De-
part in peace, be ye warmed and filled ; notwithstanding ye give them
not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
This love or charity is not that gospel grace which is required of us
under that name; for he who behaveth himself thus towards the poor,
tlie love of God dwelleth not in him, 1 John iii. 17. Whatever
name it may have, whatever it may pretend unto, whatever it mny
396 ON JUSTIFICATION.
be professed or accepted for, love it is not, nor hath any of the effects
of love; it is neither useful nor profitable. Hence the apostle infers,
verse 1 7, " Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
For this was that which he undertook to prove ; — not that we are not
justified by faith alone, without works, before God ; but that the faith
which is alone, without works, is dead, useless, and unprofitable.
Having given this first evidence unto the conclusion which, " in
thesi," he designed to prove, he re-assumes the question and states it
" in hypothesi," so as to give it a more full demonstration, verse 18,
" Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works : show me
thy faith without thy works," (that is, which is without works, or by
thy works,) " and I will show thee my faith by my works." It is
plain, beyond denial, that the apostle doth here again propose his
main question only on a supposition that there is a dead, useless
faith ; which he had proved before. For now all the inquiry remaining
is, how true faith, or that which is of the right gospel kind, may be
showed, evidenced, or demonstrated, so as that their folly may appear
who trust unto any other faith whatever ? As/foi/ /io/ rriv 'ttIstiv cov,
— "Evidence or demonstrate thy faith to he true by the only means
thereof, which is works." And therefore although he say, " Thou hast
faith," — that is, " Thou professest and boastest that thou hast that
faith whereby thou mayest be saved," — " and I have works," he doth
not say, " Sliow me thy faith by thy works, and I will show thee my
works by my faith," which the antithesis would require ; but, " I will
show thee my faith by my works," because the whole question was
concerninsf the evidencing of faith and not of works.
That this faith, which cannot be evidenced by works, which is not
fruitful in them, but consists only in a bare assent unto the truth of
divine revelation, is not the faith that doth justify or will save us, he
farther proves, in that it is no other but what the devils themselves
have; and no man can think or hope to be saved by that which is
common unto them with devils, and wherein they do much exceed
them, verse 19, " Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well:
the devils also believe, and tremble." The belief of one God is not
the whole of what the devils believe, but is singled out as the prin-
cipal, fundamental truth, and on the concession whereof an assent
unto all divine revelation doth necessarily ensue. And this is the
second argument whereby he proves an empty, barren faith to be
dead and useless.
The second confirmation being given unto his principal assertion,
he restates it in that way, and under those terms, wherein he designed
it unto its last confirmation : " But wilt thou know, 0 vain man,
that faith without works is dead ?" verse 20. And we may consider
in the words, — First, The person with whom he deals, whose convic-
PAUL AND JAMES RECONCILED. 397
tion he endeavoured : him he calls a vain man; — not in general, as
every man living is altogether vanity, but as one who in an especial
manner is vainly puffed up in his own fleshly mind, — one that hath
entertained vain imaginations of being saved by an empty profession
of the gospel, without any fruit of obedience. Secondly, That which
he designs with respect unto this vain man is his conviction, — a con-
viction of that foolish and pernicious error that he had imbibed:
" Wilt thou know, O vain man ? " Thirdly, That which alone he
designed to convince him of is, that "faith tvithoiit ivorks is dead;"
— that is, the faith which is without works, wliich is barren and
unfruitful, is dead and useless. This is that alone, and this is all,
that he undertakes to prove by his following instances and arguings ;
neither do they prove any more. To wrest his words to any other
purpose, when they are all proper and suited unto what he expresseth
as his only design, is to offer violence unto them.
This, therefore, he proves by the consideration of the faith of
Abraham, verse 21, "Was not Abraham our father justified by
works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar V Some
things must be observed to clear the mind of the apostle herein; as,
— 1. It is certain that Abraham was justified many years before the
work instanced in was performed ; for long before was that testimony
given concerning him, " He believed in the LoED, and he counted it
unto him for righteousness :" and the imputation of righteousness
upon believing is all the justification we inquire after or will contend
about. 2. It is certain that, in the relation of the story here repeated
by the apoajtle, there is not any one word spoken of Abraham's being
then justified before God, by that or any other work Avhatever. But,
8. It is plain and evident that, in the place related unto, Abraham
was declared to he justified by an open attestation unto his faith and
fear of God as sincere, and that they had evidenced themselves so
to be in the sight of God himself; which God condescends to express
by an assumption of human affections, Gen. xxii. 1 2, " Now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son,
thine only son, from me." That this is the justification which the
apostle intends, cannot be denied but out of love to strife ; and this
was the manifestation and declaration of the truth and sincerity of
his faith whereby he was justified before God. And hereby the
apostle directly and undeniably proves what he produceth this in-
stance for, — namely, that " faith without works is dead." 4. It is no
less evident that the apostle had not spoken any thing before as
unto our justification before God, and the means thereof; and is
therefore absurdly imagined here to introduce it in the proof of
what he had before asserted, which it doth not prove at all. 5. The
only safe nde of interpreting the meaning of the apostle, next unto
398 ON JUSTIFICATION".
the scope and design of liis present discourse, which he makes manifest
in the reiterated proposition of it, is the scope of the places, [and the]
matter of fact, with its circumstances, which he refers unto and takes
his proof from. And they were plainly these, and no other : — Abra-
ham had been long a justified believer; for there were thirty years, or
thereabout, between the testimony given thereunto, Gen. xv., and the
story of sacrificing his son, related Gen. xxii. All this Avhile he
walked with God, and was upright in a course of holy, fruitful obe-
dience ; yet it pleased God to put his faith, after many others, unto
a new, his greatest, his last trial. And it is the way of God, in the
covenant of grace, to try the faith of them that believe, by such ways
as seem meet unto him. Hereby he manifests how precious it is
(the trial of faith making it appear to be " more precious than gold,"
1 Pet. i. 7), and raiseth up glory unto himself; which is in the nature of
faith to give unto him, Rom. iv. 20. And this is the state of the case
as proposed by the apostle, — namely, how it may be tried whether
the faith which men profess be genuine, precious, " more precious
than gold," of the right nature with that whereunto the gospel pro-
mise of salvation is annexed. Secondly, This trial was made by woi'ks,
or by one signal duty of obedience prescribed unto him for that very
end and purpose; for Abraham was to be proposed as a pattern unto
all that should afterward believe. And God provided a signal way
for the trial of his faith, — namely, by an act of obedience, which was
so far from being enjoined by the moral law, that it seemed contrary
unto it. And if he be proposed unto us as a pattern of justification
by works in the sight of God, it must be by such works as God hath
not required in the moral law, but such as seem to be contrary there-
unto. Nor can any man receive any encouragement to expect justi-
fication by works, by telling him that Abraham was justified by works,
when he offered up his only son to God ; for it will be easy for him
to say, that as no such work was ever performed by him, so none
such was ever required of him. But, Thirdly, Upon Abraham's com-
pliance with the command of God, given him in the way of trial, God
himself av&po-xo'Trot.dug declares the sincerity of his faith and his justi-
fication thereon, or his gi'acious acceptance of him. This is the whole
design of the place which the apostle traduceth imto his purpose ; and
it contains the whole of what he was to prove, and no more. Plainly
it is granted in it that we are not justified by our works before God,
seeing he instances only in a work joerformed by a justified believer
many years after he was absolutely justified before God. But this is
evidently proved hereby, — namely, that "faith without works is dead ;"
seeing justifying faith, as is evident in the case of Abraham, is that,
and that alone, which brings forth works of obedience : for on such a
faith alone is a man evidenced, declared, and pronounced to be justi-
PAUL AND JAMES EECONCILED. 399
fled or accepted with God. Abraham was not then first justified ; he
was not then said to be justified ; — he was declared to be justified, and
that by and upon his works : which contains the whole of what the
apostle intends to prove.
There is, therefore, no appearance of the least contradiction be-
tween this apostle and Paul, who professedly asserts that Abraham
was not justified before God by works; for James only declares that
by the works which he performed after he was justified he was ma-
nifested and declared so to be. And that this was the whole of his
design he manifests in the next verse, where he declares what he had
proved by this instance, verse 22, " Seest thou how faith -wrought
with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" Two things
he enforcetli as proved unto the conviction of him with whom he had
to do : — 1. That true faith will operate by works; so did Abraham's, —
it was effective in obedience. 2. That it was made perfect by works;
that is, evidenced so to be, — for rsXnog, rsXsioufj^ai, doth nowhere in the
Scripture signify the intei'nal, formal perfecting of any thing, but only
the external complement or perfection of it, or the manifestation of
it. It was complete as unto its proper effect, when he was first jus-
tified; and it was now manifested so to be. See Matt. v. 48; Col.
iv. 12 ; 2 Cor. xii. 9. " This," saith the apostle, " I have proved in the
instance of Abraham, — namely, that it is works of obedience alone
that can evince a man to be justified, or to have that faith whereby he
may be so." He adds, in the confirmation of what he had afiirmed,
verse 23, " And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he
was called The friend of God."
Two things the apostle affirms herein: — 1. That the Scripture
mentioned was fulfilled. It was so in that justification by works
which he ascribes unto Abraham. But how this Scripture was herein
fulfilled, either as unto the time wherein it was spoken, or as unto
the thing itself, any otherwise but as that which is therein asserted
was evidenced and declared, no man can explain. What the Scripture
affirmed so long before of Abraham was then evidenced to be most
true, by the works which his faith produced ; and so that Scripture
was accomplished. For otherwise, supposing the distinction made
between faith and works by himself, and the opposition that he puts
between them, adding thereunto the sense given of this place by the
apostle Paul, with the direct importance of the words, and nothing-
can be more contradictory unto his design (namely, if he intended to
prove our justification before God by works) than the quotation of
this testimony. Wherefore, this Scripture was [not], nor can be,
otherwise fulfilled by Abraham's justification by works, but only that
by and upon them he was manifested so to be. 2. He adds, that
400 ON JUSTIFICATION.
hereon he was called " The friend of God." So he is, Isa. xli. 8 ; as also,
2 Chron. xx. 7. This is of the same importance with his being jus-
tified by works : for he was not thus called merely as a justified person,
but as one who had received singular privileges from God, and an-
swered them by a holy walking before him. Wherefore, his being
called " The friend of God," was God's approbation of his faith and
obedience; which is the justification by works that the apostle asserts.
Hereon he makes a double conclusion (for the instance of Rahab
being of the same nature, and spoken unto before, I shall not insist
again upon it): — 1. As unto his present argument, verse 24. 2. As
unto the whole of his design, verse 26. The first is, " That by works
a man is justified, and not by faith only;" — "Ye see then, you whom
I design to convince of the vanity of that imagination, that you are
justified by a dead faith, a breathless carcase of faith, a mere assent
unto the truth of the gospel, and profession of it, consistent with all
manner of impiety, and wholly destitute of good fruits : you may see
what faith it is that is required unto justification and salvation. For
Abraham was declared to be righteous, to be justified, on that faith
which wrought hi/ works, and not at all by such a faith as you pre-
tend unto." A man is justified hy works, as Abraham was when he
had offered up his son to God; that is, what he really was by faith
long before, as the Scrij)ture testifieth, was then and thereby evi-
denced and declared. And, therefore, let no man suppose that by the
faith which they boasted of, any one is or can be justified, seeing that
whereon Abraham w\as declared to be so, was that which evidenced
itself by its fruits. 2. He lays down that great conclusion, which he
had evinced by his wLole disputation, and which at first he designed
to confirm, verse 26, " For as the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without works is dead also." A breathless carcase and an un-
working faith are alike, as unto all the ends of natural or spiritual
life. This was that which the apostle designed from the beginning
to convince vain and barren professors of; which, accordingly, he
hath given sufficient reason and testimony for.
GOSPEL GROUNDS AND EVIDENCES
THE FAITH OF GOD'S ELECT;
THE NATURE OF TRUE SAVING FAITH, IN SECUEINGOF THE SPIRITUAL COMFORT OF RELIEVERS
IN THIS LIFE, IS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE.
II.
THE WAY WHEREIN TRUE FAITH DOTU EVIDENCE ITSELF IN THE SOULS AND CONSCIENCES OF
BELIEVERS, UNTO THEIR SUPPORTMENT AND COMFORT, UNDER ALL THEIR
CONFLICTS WITH SIN, IN ALL THEIR TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS.
III.
FAITH WILL EVIDENCE ITSELF BY A DILIGENT, CONSTANT ENDEAVOUR TO KEEP ITSELF AND
ALL GRACE IN DUE EXERCISE, IN ALL ORDINANCES OF DIVINE
WORSHIP, PRIVATE AND PUBLIC.
IV.
A PECULIAR WAY WHEREBY TRUE FAITH WILL E'VaDENCE ITSELF, BY BRINGING THE SOUL
INTO A STATE OF REPENTANCE.
' Examine yotirselvee n lieHiPr yp hp in the faith ; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that
jL-sua Christ is io you. except ye be rei^rubatea?"— 2 Cuk xiu. d.
VOL V. ~C)
PREFATORY NOTE.
This treatise, entitled "Gospel Grounds and Evidences of the Faith of God's
Elect," was given to the world in 1695. The remainder of the title is scarcely
applicable as a correct desiG;nation of the leading divisions of the work, and may,
perhaps, have been added by those who had the charge of publishing it. In the
preface by Isaac Chauucey, the reader is assured that the treatise is the produc-
tion of Dr Owen. It bears internal evidence of the fact, and that he wrote it
with a view to publication. When he waives the formal discussion of some topics
connected with his subject, on tlie ground that he had attempted the discussion
of them " in other writings" it seems a just inference that it had been his intention
to publish the treatise, though no explanation has transpired why it was withheld
from the press for a period of twelve years after his death. The circumstance is
of some moment, as showing that the work, though posthumous, may be held to
contain the deliberate and matured judgment of the author on the question of
which it treats.
His object is not to illustrate the common evidences of genuine religion, or the
grounds on which we may conclude a man to be sincere in his religious profes-
sion. It is an inquiry rather into the evidences on which the elect of God, in any
process of self-scrutiny, may ascertain the reality of their own faith. Ascribing
to faith all the importance which is due to it as the instrumental cause of jus-
tification, the author suspends the entire question of tlie genuineness of con-
version upon the existence of a fourfold development or operation of that gracious
principle in the hearts of all who may be anxious to discover whether they have
been really quickened and born of God.
After stating the nature of saving faith, and after a brief exhibition of the
gospel as the divine metliod for the salvation of sinners through the merits of
Christ, he proceeds to " the trial of faith," as the main object of the treatise. In
the first place, he shows that faith, if genuine, includes or denotes implicit appro-
bation of " God's way of saving sinners," in opposition to all schemes of merely
human invention for our spiritual deliverance. This approbation of the divine
plan for our redemption, in which he holds that the very essence and life of faith
consist, is founded on the conviction, — first, That the salvation revealed in the
gospel is in harmony with the perfections and majesty of the divine character;
secondly. That it is suited to the views, desires, and aspirations of a soul enlight-
ened by grace; and, thirdly, That it as effectually honours the moral law as if it
liad been completely fulfilled in the personal obedience of the saints.
Secondly, Faith is shown to imply an approbation of the will of God in requiring
of us holiness and obedience, to the full measure of the perfection and spirituality
demanded of us in the moral law. He appeals, in illustration of the obedience
required, to the light of nature, and to the knowledge of good and evil which men
enjoy through the law; but proves that without the light of saving faith there
can be no adequate conception of the holiness required by the divine will, urging
an acute distinction, which might rank as a separate contribution to the doctrine
of conscience, and according to which its authoiity in determining the moral cha-
racter of an action by no means implies the love of what is good, and the hatred
of what is evil. The function of conscience he views as exclusively judicial, and
shows that the motive wJiich prompts to action must spring from other conside-
I'atious. Two grounds are assigned on which faith approves of the holiness re-
quired of us; — the consistency of such a demand with the perfection of the divine
PREFATORY NOTE. 403
nature; and its fitness, when full com2)liance is yielded with it, to advance us to
the utmost perfection of which our own nature is capable.
Thirdly, Evidence of genuine faith is also afforded when the mind endeavours
to keep itself in the due exercise of the grace of faith, in the public and private
ordinances of divine worship. If faith is not cultivated in the worship of God,
all devotion is corrupted into the empty forms of superstition, as in the ritual of
Popery; or becomes the mere wildfire of fanaticism, or degenerates into the
rationalism which ignores all worship instituted by the authority of revelation.
Judicious dii-ections follow as to the best method of preserving faith in vivid ex-
ercise while we are engaged in the various acts of devotion.
FourMy, The last evidence specified of true faith is the evangelical repentance
which it produces. Weanedness from the world, the lively remembrance of sin,
a becoming intensity of godly sorrow on account of it, and other spiritual duties,
are described as essential elements in the penitential feelings and exercises of those
who really believe unto salvation.
The treatise indicates an acquaintance with the true philosophy of human
nature, thorough knowledge of the world, and of man individually, as he takes
the hue of his character fi"om surrounding objects and social influences, and that
depth of Christian expeiuence in which our author has perhaps rarely been ex-
celled. He shines in the anatomy of human motives; and while he goes deeply
into the subjective workings of faith, he is always keenly alive to the objective
realities of evangelical truth. The Christian reader will find this treatise an
admirable manual for self-examination. — Ed.
TO THE READER.
As faith is the first vital act that every true Christian puts forth, and the life
which he lives is by the faith of the Son of God, so it is his next and great con-
cern to know that he doth believe, and that believing he hath eternal life; that his
faith is the faith of God's elect, and of the operation of God: Avithout some distinct
believing knowledge of which he cannot so comfortably assure his heart before
God concerning his calling and election, so far as to carry him forth in all the ways
of holiness, in doing and suffering the will of God with necessary resolution and
cheerfulness ; the doing of which in a right manner, according to the tenor of the
gospel, is no small part of spiritual skill; whereunto two things are highly re-
quisite: first, That he be well acquainted with the doctrine of Christ, and know
how to distinguish the gospel from the law ; and, secondly. That he be very con-
versant with his own heart, that so by comparing his faith, and the fruits thereof,
with the said doctrine of Christ, he may come to see that, as he hath received
Christ, so he walks in him : all his reasonings concerning himself being taken up
from the word of God, so that what judgment he passeth upon himself may be a
judgment of faith, and answer of a good conscience towards God; for all the trials
of faith must at last be resolved into a judgment of faith, before which is made,
tb.e soul still labours under staggerings and uncertainties.
The design of this ensuing treatise is to resolve this great question, Whether
the faith we profess unto be true or no ? — the resolution of which, upon an impar-
tial inquiry, must needs be very grateful and advantageous to every one that hath
but tasted that the Lord is gracious. That the late reverend, learned, and pious
Dr Owen was the author there needs be no doubt; not only because good assur-
ance is given by such as were intrusted with his writings, but also in that the
style and spirit running through the other of his practical writings is here very
manifest ; and, accordingly, with them is recommended to the serious perusal of
every diligent inquirer into the truth of his spiritual estate and condition.
Isaac Chauncey."
' Isaac Chauncey, M.A. and M.D., was pastor of the Bury Street congreg-ation, London, from
1687 to 1702. It was the conf:refration of which Dr Owen had the charge in 1()83, wlien he died.
Dr Chauncey was the son of Mr Chauncey, President of Harvard College, New England, and had
been ejerte4 from the living of Woodhorough, M'iltshire, at the time of the Restoration. On de-
niitting the charge of his congregation in 1687, he was sucieede<l by the celebrated Ur I. Watts.
He was subsequently appointed tutor in a new academical institution at Ilomcrton, London, — the
s.ime institution which has acquired widespread celebrity under the able and honoured presi-
dency of the Rev. John Pje Smith, D.D. — Ed.
EVIDENCES
THE FAITH OF GOD'S ELECT.
The securing of the spiritual comforts of believers in this life is a
matter of the highest importance unto the glory of God, and their
own advantage by the gospel. For God is abundantly willing that
all the heirs of promise should receive strong consolation, and he hath
provided ways and means for the communication of it to them ; and
their participation of it is their principal interest in this world, and
is so esteemed by them. But their effectual refreshing enjoyment of
these comforts is variously opposed by the power of the remainders
of sin, in conjunction with other temptations. Hence, notwithstand-
ing their right and title unto them by the gospel, they are ofttimes
actually destitute of a gracious sense of them, and, consequently, of
that relief which they are suited to afford in all their duties, trials,
and afflictions. Now, the root whereon all real comforts do grow,
whence they spring and arise, is true and saving faith, — the faith of
God's elect. Wherefore they do ordinarily answer unto, and hold
proportion with, the evidences which any have of that faith in them-
selves; at least, they cannot be maintained without such evidences.
Wherefore, that we may be a little useful imto the establishment or
recovery of that consolation which God is so abundantly willing that
all the heirs of promise should enjoy, I shall inquire, What are the
'principal acts and operatioyis of faith, luhereby it will evidence its
truth and sincerity in the midst of all temptations and storms that
may befall believers in this world? and I shall insist on such alone
as will bear the severest scrutiny by Scripture and experience. And, —
The principal genuine acting of saving faith in us, inseparable from
it, yea, essential to such acting, consists in the choosing, embracing,
and approbation of God's way of saving sinners, by the mediation
of Jesus Christ, relying thereon, ivith a renunciation of all other
ways and means pretending unto the same end of salvation.
406 EVIDENCES OF THE
This is that which we are to explain and prove.
Saving faith is our " believing the record that God hath given us
of his Son," 1 John v. 10. "And this is the record, that God hath
given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son," verse 11. This is
the testimony which God gives, that great and sacred truth which he
himself bears witness unto, — namely, that he hath freely prepared
eternal life for them that believe, or provided a way of salvation for
them. And what God so prepares he is said to give, because of the
certainty of its communication. So grace was promised and given
to the elect in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Tim. i. 9 ;
Tit. i. 2. And that is so to be communicated unto them, in and by
the mediation of his Son Jesus Christ, that it is the only way where-
by God will give eternal life unto any ; which is therefore wholly in
him, and by him to be obtained, and from him to be received. Upon
our acquiescency in this testimony, on our approbation of this way
of saving sinners, or our refusal of it, our eternal safety or ruin doth
absolutely depend. » And it is reasonable that it should be so : for,
in our receiving of this testimony of God, we " set to our seal that
God is true," John iii. 33 ; we ascribe unto him the glory of his
truth, and therein of all the other holy properties of his nature, —
the most eminent duty whereof we are capable in this world ; and
by a refusal of it, what lieth in us, we make him a liar, as in this
place, 1 John v. 10, which is virtually to renounce his being.
And the solemnity wherewith this testimony is entered is very
remarkable, verse 7, " There are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are
one." The trinity of divine persons, acting distinctly in the unity of
the same divine nature, do give this testimony: and they do so by
those distinct operations whereby they act in this way and work of
God's saving sinners by Jesus Christ; which are at large declared in
the gospel. And there is added hereunto a testimony that is im-
mediately applicatory unto the souls of believers, of this sovereign
testimony of the holy Trinity; and this is the witness of grace and
all sacred ordinances: "There are three that bear witness in earth,
the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in
one,'" verse 8. They are not all essentially the same in one and the
same nature, as are the Father, Word, and Holy Ghost, yet they all
absolutely agree in the same testimony ; and they do it by that espe-
cial efficacy which they have on the souls of believers to assure them
of this truth. In this record, so solemnly, so gloriously given and
proposed, life and death are set before us. The receiving and em-
bracing of this testimony, with an approbation of the way of salva-
tion testified unto, is that work of faith which secures us of eternal
life. On these terms there is reconciliation and agreement made and
FAITH OF god's elect. 407
established between God and men; without which men must perish
for ever.
So our blessed Saviour affirms, " This is life eternal, that they may
know thee" (the Father) " the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent," John svii. 3. To know the Father as the only true
God, to know him as he hath sent Jesus Christ to be the only way
and means of the salvation of sinners, and to know Jesus Christ as
sent by him for that end, is that grace and duty which instates us
in a right to eternal life, and initiates us in the possession of it:
and this includes that choice and approbation of the way of God for
the saving of sinners Avhereof we speak.
But these things must be more distinctly opened : —
1. The great fundamental difference in religion is concerning the
way and means whereby sinners may be saved. From men's diffe-
rent apprehensions hereof arise all other differences about religion;
and the first thing that engageth men really into any concernment
in religion, is an inquiry in their minds how sinners may be saved,
or what they shall do themselves to be saved: " What shall we do?
what shall we do to be saved?" " "What is the way of acceptance
with God?" is that inquiry which gives men their first initiation into
religion. See Acts ii. 37, x\i. 30; Micah vi. 6-8.
This question being once raised in the conscience, an answer must
be returned unto it. " I will consider," saith the prophet, " what I
shall answer when I am reproved," Hab. ii. 1. And there is all the
reason in the world that men consider well of a good answer here-
unto, without which they must perish for ever; for if they cannot
answer themselves here, how do they hope to answer God hereafter?
Wherefore, without a sufficient answer always in readiness unto this
inquiry, no man can have any hopes of a blessed eternity.
Now, the real answer which men return unto themselves is accord-
ing to the influence which their minds are under from one or other
of the two divine covenants, — that of works or that of grace. And
these two covenants, talcen absolutely, are inconsistent, and give
answers in this case that are directly contradictory to one another:
so the apostle declares, Rom. x. 5-9. The one says, " The man that
doth the tuo7'ks of the latu shall live by them; this is the only way
whereby you may be saved :" the other wholly waives this return, and
puts it all on faith in Christ Jesus. Hence there is great difference
and great variety in tlie answers which men return to themselves on
this inquiry; for their consciences will neither hear nor speak any
thing but what comj^lies with the covenant whereunto they do be-
long. These things are reconciled only in the blood of Christ; and
how, the apostle declared, Rom. viii. 3. The greatest part of con-
vinced sinners seem to adhere to the testimony of the covenant of
40S EVIDENCES OF THE
works; and so perish for ever. Nothing will stand lis in stead iu
this matter, nothing will save us, " but the answer of a good conscience
towards God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. iii. 21.
2. The wa}^ that God hath prepared for the saving of sinners is a
fruit and product of infinite wisdom, and powerfully efficacious unto
its end. As such it is to be received, or it is rejected. It is not
enough that we admit of the notions of it as declared, unless we are
sensible of divine wisdom and power in it, so as that it may be safely
trusted unto. Hereon, upon the proposal of it, falls out the eternally
distinguishing difference among men. Some look upon it and em-
brace it as the power and wisdom of God; others really reject it as
a thing foolish and weak, not meet to be trusted unto. Hereof the
apostle gives an account at large, 1 Cor. i. 18-24. And this is mys-
terious in religion : — the same divine truth is by the same way and
means, at the same time, proposed unto sundry persons, all in the
same condition, under the same circumstances, all equally concerned
in that which is proposed therein : some of them hereon do receive it,
embrace it, approve of it, and trust unto it for life and salvation;
others despise it, reject it, value it not, trust not unto it. To the one
it is the tuisdom of God, and the power of God ; to the other, lueak-
ness and foolishness : as it must of necessity be the one or the other,
— it is not capable of a middle state or consideration. It is not a good
way unless it be the only way ; it is not a safe, it is not the best way,
if there be any other ; for it is eternally inconsistent with any other.
It is the wisdom of God, or it is downright folly. And here, after
all our disputes, we must resort unto eternal sovereign grace, making
a distinction among them unto whom the gospel is proposed, and the
almighty power of actual grace in curing that unbelief which blinds
the minds of men, that they can see nothing but foUy and weakness
in God's way of the saving of sinners. And this unbelief worketh yet
in the most of them imto whom this way of God is proposed in the
gospel; they receive it not as an effect of infinite wisdom, and as
powerfully efficacious unto its proper end. Some are profligate in the
service of their lusts, and regard it not; unto whom may be a^Dplied
that [saying] of the prophet, " Hear, ye despisers, and wonder, and
perish." Some are under the power of darkness and ignorance, so
as that they apprehend not, they understand not the mystery of it ;
for " the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth
it not," Some are blinded by Satan, as he is the god of this world,
by filling their minds with prejudice, and their hearts with the love
of present things, that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, cannot shine into them. Some would mix with
it their own works, ways, and duties, as they belong unto the first
covenant ; which are eternally irreconcilable unto this way of God, as
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 409
the apostle teacheth, Kom. x. 3, 4. Hereby doth unbelief eternally
ruin the souls of men. They do not, they cannot, approve of the way
of God for saving sinners proposed in the gospel, as an efiect of infinite
wisdom and power, which they may safely trust unto, in opposition
unto all other ways and means, pretending to be useful unto the
same end; and this will give us light into the nature and actings of
saving faith, which we inquire after.
3. The whole Scripture, and all divine institutions from the be-
ginning, do testify, in general, that this way of God for the saving of
sinners is by commutation, substitution, atonement, satisfaction, and
imputation. This is the language of the first promise, and all the
sacrifices of the law founded thereon; this is the language of the
Scripture : " There is a way whereby sinners may be saved, — a way
that God hath found out and appointed." Now, it being the law
wherein sinners are concerned, the rule of all things between God
and them should seem to be by what they can do or suffer with resjDect
unto that law. "No," saith the Scripture, "it cannot be so; 'for
by the deeds of the law no man living shall be justified in the sight
of God.' " Ps. cxliii. 2; Rom. iii. 20; Gal. ii. IC. Neither shall it be
by their personal answering of the penalty of the law which they
have broken; for they cannot do so, but they must perish eternally:
for, " If thou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall
stand?" Ps. cxxx. 3. There must therefore be, there is another way,
of a different nature and kind from these, for the saving of sinners,
or there is no due revelation made of the mind of God in the Scrip-
ture. But that there is so, and what it is, is the main design of it
to declare : and this is by the substitution of a mediator instead of
the sinners that shall be saved, Vv'lio shall both bear the penalty of
the law which they had incurred and fulfil that righteousness which
they could not attain unto.
This in general is God's way of saving sinners, whether men like
it or no : " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ; that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us," Rom. viii. 3, 4. See also Heb.
X. 5-10. " He made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21.
Here unbelief hath prevailed with many in this latter age to reject
the glory of God herein; but we have vindicated the truth against
them sufficiently elsewhere.
4. There are sundry things previously required to give us a clear
view of the gloiy of God in this way of saving sinners: such are, a
due consideration of the nature of the fall of our first parents, and
of our apostasy from God thereby. I may not stay here to show
410 EVIDENCES OF THE
the nature or aggravations of tliem; neither can we conceive them
aright, much less express them. I only say, that unless we have
due apprehensions of the dread and terror of them, of the invasion
made on the glory of God, and the confusion brought on the creation
by them, we can never discern the reason and glory of rejecting the
way of personal righteousness, and the establishing this way of a
mediator for the saving of sinners. A due sense of our present
infinite distance from God, and the impossibility that there is in
ourselves of making any approaches unto him, is of the same consi-
deration ; so likewise is that of our utter disability to do any thing
that may answer the law, or the holiness and righteousness of God
therein, — of our universal unconformity in our natures, hearts, and
their actings, unto the nature, holiness, and -will of God. Unless, I
say, we have a sense of these things in our minds and upon our con-
sciences, we cannot believe aright, we cannot comprehend the glory
of this new way of salvation. And whereas mankind hath had a
general notion, though no distinct apprehension, of these things, or
of some of them, many amongst them have apprehended that there
is a necessity of some kind of satisfaction or atonement to be made,
that sinners may be freed from the displeasure of God; but when
God's way of it was proposed unto them, it was, and is, generally re-
jected, because " the carnal mind is enmity against God." But when
these things are fixed on the soul by shai'p and durable convictions,
they will enlighten it with due apprehensions of the glory and beauty
of God's way of saving sinners.
5. This is the gospel, this is the work of it, — namely, a divine
declaration of the way of God for the saving of sinners, through the
person, mediation, blood, righteousness, and intercession of Christ.
This is that which it revealeth, declareth, proposeth, and tendereth
imto sinners, — there is a way for their salvation. As this is contained
in the first promise, so the truth of every word in the Scripture
depends on the supposition of it. Without this, there could be no
more intercourse between God and us than is between him and
devils. Again, it declares that this way is not by the law or its
works, — by the first covenant, or its conditions, — by our own doing
or suffering; but it is a new way, found out in and proceeding from
infinite wisdom, love, grace, and goodness, — namely, by the incarna-
tion of the eternal Son of God, his susception of the office of a media-
tor, doing and suffering in the discharge of it whatever was needful
for the justification and salvation of sinners, unto his own eternal
glory. See Rom. iii. 24-27, viii. 3, 4; 2 Cor. v. 19-21, etc.
Moreover, the gospel adds, that the only way of obtaining an
interest in this blessed contrivance of saving sinners by the substi-
tution of Christ, as the surety of the covenant, and thereon the im-
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 411
putation of our sius to him, and of bis righteousness unto ns, is by
faith in him.
Here comes in that trial of faith which we inquire after. This
way of saving sinners being proposed, offered, and tendered unto us
in the gospel, true and saving faith receives it, approves of it, rests
in it, renounceth all other hopes and expectations, reposing its whole
confidence therein.
For it is not proposed unto lis merely as a notion of truth, to be
assented to or denied, in which sense all believe the gospel that are
called Christians, — they do not esteem it a fable ; but it is j)roposed
unto us as that which we ought practically to close withal, for our-
selves to trust alone unto it for life and salvation. And I shall speak
briefly unto two things: — I. How doth saving faith approve of this
way; on what accounts, and unto ivhat ends? II. Hoiv it doth evi-
dence and manifest itself hereby unto the comfort of believers.
I.
How doth Scaving faith approve of this way ; on what accounts,
and unto what ends ?
First, It approves of it, as that which every way becomes God to
find out, to grant, and propose: so speaks the apostle, Heb. ii. 10,
" It became him, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Cap-
tain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." Tliat becomes
God, is worthy of him, is to be owned concerning him, which answers
unto his infinite wisdom, goodness, grace, holiness, and righteousness,
and nothing else. This faith discerns, judgeth, and determineth
concerning this way, — namely, that it is every way worthy of God,
and answers all the holy properties of his nature. This is called
" The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6.
This discovery of the glory of God in this way is made unto faith
alone, and by it alone it is embraced. The not discerning of it, and
thereon the Avant of an acquiescency m it, is that unbelief which ruins
the souls of men. The reason why men do not embrace the way of
salvation tendered in the gospel, is because they do not see nor un-
derstand how full it is of divine glory, how it becomes God, is worthy
of him, and answers all the perfections of his nature. Then* minds
are blinded, that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, doth not shine unto them, 2 Cor. iv. 4. And so they
deal with this way of God as if it were weakness and folly.
Herein consists the essence and life of faith : — It sees, discerns, and
determines, that the way of salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ pro-
412 EVIDENCES OF THE
posed in the gospel, is such as becometh God and all his divine excel-
lencies to find out, appoint, and propose unto us. And herein doth
it properly give glory to God, which is its peculiar work and excel-
lency, Rom. iv. 20 ; herein it rests and refresheth itself.
In particular, faith herein rejoiceth in the manifestation of the in-
finite wisdom of God. A view of the wisdom of God acting itself by
his power in the works of creation (for in wisdom he made them all),
is the sole reason of ascribing glory unto him in all natural worship,
whereby we glorify him as God; and a due apprehension of the in-
finite wisdom of God in the new creation, in the way of saving sin-
ners by Jesus Christ, is the foundation of all spiritual, evangelical
ascription of glory to God.
It was the design of God, in a peculiar way, to manifest and
glorify his wisdom in this work. Christ crucified is the " power of
God, and the wisdom of God," 1 Cor. i. 24; and " all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge are hid in him," Col. ii. 3. All the trea-
sures of divine wisdom are laid up in Christ, and laid out about him,
as to be manifested unto faith in and by the gospel. He designed
herein to make kno"\vn his "manifold wisdom," Eph. iii. 9, 10.
Wherefore, according to our apprehension and admiration of the
wisdom of God in the constitution of this way of salvation is our faith,
and no otherwise; where that doth not appear unto us, where our
minds are not afiected with it, there is no faith at all.
I cannot stay here to reckon up the especial instances of divine
wisdom herein. Somewhat I have attempted towards it in other
writings; and I shall only say at present, that the foundation of this
whole work and way, in the incarnation of the eternal Son of God, is
so glorious an effect of infinite wisdom, as the whole blessed creation
will admire to eternity. This of itself bespeaks this way and work
divine. Herein the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ.
This is of God alone; this is that which becomes him; that which
nothing but infinite wisdom could extend unto. Whilst faith lives
in a due apprehension of the wisdom of God in this, and the whole
superstruction of this way, on this foundation it is safe.
Goodness, love, grace, and mercy, are other properties of the divine
nature, wherein it is gloriously amiable. "God is love;" there is
none God but he. Grace and mercy are among the principal titles
which he everywhere assumes to himself; and it was his design to
manifest them all to the utmost in this work and way of saving sin-
ners by Christ, as is everywhere declared in the Scripture. And all
these lie open to the eye of faith herein : it sees infinite gocidness,
love, and grace, in this way, such as becomes God, such as can reside
in none but him ; which it therefore rests and rejoiceth in, 1 Pet. i. 8.
In adherence unto, and approbation of, this way of salvation, as ex-
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 413
pressive of these perfections of tlie divine nature, doth faith act itself
continually.
Where unbelief prevaileth, the mind hath no view of the glory that
is in this way of salvation, in that it is so becoming of God and all
his holy properties, as the apostle declares, 2 Cor. iv. 4. And where
it is so, whatever is pretended, men cannot cordially receive it and
embrace it ; for they know not the reason for which it ought to be so
embraced : they see no form nor comeliness in Christ, who is the life
and centre of this way, " no beauty for which he should be desired,"
Isa. liii. 2. Hence, in the first preaching of it, it was " unto the Jews
a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;" for by reason
of their unbelief they could not see it to be, what it is, " the power of
God, and the wisdom of God;" and so it must be esteemed, or be ac-
counted folly.
Yea, from the same unbelief it is that at this day the very notion
of the truth herein is rejected by many, even all those who are called
Socinians, and all that adhere unto them in the disbelief of super-
natural mysteriea They cannot see a suitableness in this way of
salvation unto the glory of God, — as no unbeliever can ; and therefore
those of them who do not oppose directly the doctrine of it, yet do
make no use of it unto its proper end. Veiy few of them, compara-
tively, who profess the truth of the gospel, have an experience of the
2)oioer of it unto their own salvation.
But here true faith stands in\dncibly, — hereby it will evidence its
truth and sincerity in the midst of all temptations, and the most dis-
mal conflicts it hath with them ; yea, against the perplexing power
and charge of sin thence arising. From this stronghold it will not
be driven ; whilst the soul can exercise faith herein, — namely, in
steadily choosing, embracing, and approving of God's way of saving
sinners by Jesus Christ, as that wherein he will be eternally glori-
fied, because it is suited unto, and answers all the perfections of, his
nature, is that which every way becomes him, — it will have where-
with to relieve itself in all its trials. For this is faith, this is saving"
faith, which will not fail us. That faith which works in the soul a
gracious persuasion of the excellency of this way, by a sight of the
glory of the wisdom, power, grace, love, and goodness of God in it, so
as to be satisfied with it, as the best, the only way of coming unto
God, with a renunciation of all other ways and means unto that end,
will at all times evidence its nature and sincerity.
And this is that which gives the soul rest and satisfaction, as unto
its entrance into glory, upon its departure out of this world. It is
a great thing, to apprehend in a due manner that a poor soul that
hath been guilty of many sins, leaving the body, it may be, imder great
pain, distress, and anguish, it may be by outward violence, should
414 EVIDENCES OF THE
be immediately admitted and received into the glorious presence of
God, with all the holy attendants of his throne, there to enjoy rest
and blessedness for evermore. But here also faith discerns and ap-
proves of this great, of this ineffable, divine operation, as that which
becomes the infinite greatness of that wisdom and grace which first
designed it, the glorious efficacy of the mediation of Christ, and the
excellency of the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, without any
expectation from any thing in itself, as a cause meritorious of an ad-
mission into this glory. Neither did ever any man know what it is,
or desire it in a due manner, who looked for any desert of it in him-
self, or conceived any proportion between it and what he is or hath
done in this world. Hence some of those who have not this faith
have invented another state, after men are gone out of this world,
to make them meet for heaven, which they call purgatory ; for on
what grounds a man should expect an entrance into glory, on his
departure out of this world, they understand not.
Let them who are exercised with temptations and dejections bring
their faith unto this trial ; and tliis is the case, in various degrees, of
us all: — First, then, examine strictly by the word whether this be a
true description of the nature and acting of saving faith. Sundry
things are supposed or asserted in it; as, — 1. That the way of saving
sinners by Jesus Christ is the principal effect of divine wisdom, power,
goodness, love, and grace. 2. That the design of the gospel is to
manifest, declare, and testify that so it is, and so to make known the
glory of God therein. 3. That saving faith is that act, duty, and
work of the soul, whereby we receive the record of God concerning
these things, [and] do ascribe the glory of them all unto him, as dis-
covering it in the way of life proposed unto us. 4. That hereon it
proceeds unto a renunciation of all other ways, means, hopes, rehefs,
in opposition unto this way, or in conjunction with it, as unto accept-
ance with God in hfe and salvation. I say, in the first place, examine
these things strictly by the word ; and if they appear to be (as they
are) sacred, evangelical, fundamental truths, be not moved from them,
be not shaken in them, by any temptation whatever.
And, in the next jilace, bring your faith to the trial on these prin-
ciples : What do you judge concerning God's way of saving sinners
by Jesus Christ, as proposed in the gospel ? Are you satisfied in it,
that it is such as becomes God, and answers all the glorious attri-
butes of his nature ? Would you have any other way proposed in the
room of it? Can you, will you, commit the eternal welfare of your
souls unto the grace and faithfulness of God in this way, so as that
you have no desire to be saved any other way? Doth the glory of
God in any measure shine forth unto you in the face of Jesus Christ?
Do you find a secret joy in your hearts upon the satisfaction you take
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 41 5
in the proposal of this way unto you by the gospel? Do you, in all
youi' fears and temptations, in all approaches of death, renounce all
other reserves and reliefs, and betake your whole confidence unto this
way alone, and the representation of God made therein? Herein lies
that faith, and its exercise, which will be an anchor unto your souls
in all their trials.
And this is the first and principal ground, or reason, whereon faith,
divine and saving, doth accept, embrace, and approve of the way of
God's saving sinners by Jesus Christ, — namely, because it is such as
doth become him, and every way answer unto all the holy properties
of his nature, which are manifested and glorified therein. And where
faith doth approve of it on this ground and reason, it doth evidence
itself to be truly evangelical, unto the supportment and comfort of
them in whom it is.
Secondly, It doth so approve of this way as that which it finds
suited unto the whole design and all the desires of an enlightened
soul. So when our Lord Jesus Christ compares the kingdom of God
(which is this way of salvation) unto a treasure and a precious pearl,
he afiirms that those who found them had gi'eat joy and the highest
satisfaction, as having attained that which suited their desires, and
gave rest imto their minds.
A soul enlightened Avith the knowledge of the truth, and made
sensible of its own condition by spiritual conviction, hath two predo-
minant desires and aims, whereby it is wholly regulated, — the one is,
that God may he glorified; and the other, that itself may he eter-
nally saved. Nor can it forego either of these desires, nor are they
separable in any enlightened soul. It can never cease in either of
these desires, and that to the highest degree. The whole world can-
not dispossess an enlightened mind of either of them. Profligate
sinners have no concernment in the former; no, nor yet those who
are under legal convictions, if they have therewithal received no spi-
ritual light. They would be saved ; but for the glory of God therein,
he may look to that himself, — they are not concerned in it : for that
which they mean by salvation is nothing but a freedom from exter-
nal miser}''. This they would have, whether God be [glorified] or no ;
of what is salvation truly they have no desire.
But the first beam of spiritual light and grace instates an inde-
fatigable desire of the gloiy of God in the minds and souls of
them in whom it is. Without this the soul knows not how to de-
sire its own salvation. I may say, it would not be saved in a way
wherein God should not be glorified; for without that, whatever its
state should be, it would not be that which we call salvation. The
exaltation of the glory of God belongs essentially thereunto; it con-
sists in the beholding and enjoyment of that glory. This desire,
41 6 EVIDENCES OF THE
therefore, is immovably fixed in the mind and soul of every enlight-
ened person ; he can admit of no proposal of eternal things that is
inconsistent with it.
But, moreover, in every such person there is a ruling desire of his
own salvation. It is natural unto him, as a creature made for eter-
nity; it is inseparable from him, as he is a convinced sinner. And the
clearer the light of any one is in the nature of this salvation, the
more is this desire heightened and confirmed in him.
Here, then, lieth the inquiry, — namely, how these two prevalent
desires may be reconciled and satisfied in the same mind? For, as
we are sinners, there seems to be an inconsistency between them.
The glory of God, in his justice and holiness, requires that sinners
should die and perish eternally. So speaks the law; this is the lan-
guage of conscience, and the voice of all our fears : wherefore, for a
sinner to desire, in the first place, that God may be glorified is to
desire that himself may be damned.
Which of these desires shall the sinner cleave unto? unto whether
of them shall he give the pre-eminence? Shall he cast off all hopes
and desires of his own salvation, and be content to perish for ever?
This he cannot do; God doth not require it of him, — he hath given
him the contrary in charge whilst he is in this world. Shall he, then,
desire that God may part with and lose his glory, so as that, one wny
or other, he may be saved? bring himself unto an unconcernment
what becomes of it? This can be no more in an enlightened mind
than it can cease to desire its own salvation. But how to reconcile
these things in himself a sinner finds not.
Here, therefore, the glory of this way represents itself unto the
faith of every believer. It not only brings these desires into a per-
fect consistency and harmony, but maketh them to increase and pro-
mote one another. The desire of God's glory increase th the desire
of our own salvation ; and the desire of our own salvation enlargeth
and inflameth the desire of glorifying God therein and thereby.
These things are brought into a perfect consistency and mutual sub-
serviency in the blood of Christ, Rom. iii. 24-26; for this way is that
which God hath found out, in infinite wisdom, to glorify himself in the
salvation of sinners. There is not any thing wherein the glory of God
doth or may consist, but in this way is reconciled unto, and consistent
with, the salvation of the chiefest of sinners. There is no property of
his nature but is gloriously exalted in and by it. An answer is given
in it unto all the objections of the law against the consistency of the
glory of God and the salvation of sinners. It pleads his truth in his
threatenings, in the sanction of the law, with the curse annexed; — it
pleads his righteousness, holiness, and severity, all engaged to destroy
sinners ; — it pleads the instance of God's dealing with the angels that
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 417
sinned, and calls in the witness of conscience to testify the truth of
all its allegations: but there is a full and satisfactory answer given
unto this whole plea of the law in this way of salvation. God de-
clares in it, and by it, how he hath provided for the satisfaction of all
these things, and the exaltation of his gioiy in them ; as we shall see
immediately.
Here tnie faith will fix itself in all its distresses. " Whatever/' saith
the soul, " be my state and condition, whatever be my fears and per-
plexities, whatever oppositions I meet withal, yet I see in Jesus
Christ, in the glass of the gospel, that there is no inconsistency be-
tween the glory of God and my salvation. That otherwise insuper-
able difliculty laid by the law in the way of my life and comfort, is
utterly removed." Whilst faith keeps this hold in the soul, with a
constant approbation of this way of salvation by Christ, as that which
gives [such] a consistency unto both its governing desires, that it shall
not need forego either of them, — so as to be contented to be damned
that God may be glorified, as some have spoken, or to desire salvation
without a due regard unto the glory of God, — it will be an anchor to
stay the soul in all its storms and distresses. Some benefit which
will certainly ensue hereon we may briefly mention.
1. The soul will be hereby preserved from ruining despair, in all
the distresses that may befall it. Despair is nothing but a prevalent
apprehension of [the] mind that the glory of God and a man's salva-
tion cire inconsistent; — that God cannot be just, true, holy, or righteous,
if he in whom that apprehension is may be saved. Such a person doth
conclude that his salvation is impossible, because, one way or other,
it is inconsistent ^vith the glory of God; for nothing else can render
it impossible. Hence ariseth in the mind an utter dislike of God,
with revengeful thoughts against him for being what he is. This cuts
oflf all endeavours of reconciliation, yea, begets an abhorrency of all
the means of it, as those which are weak, foolish, and insufiicient.
Such are Christ and his cross unto men under such apprehensions;
they judge them unable to reconcile the glory of God and their sal-
vation. Then is a soul in an open entrance into hell. From this
cursed frame and ruin the soul is safely preserved by faith's main-
taining in the mind and heart a due persuasion of the consistency
and harmony that is between the glory of God and its own salvation.
Whilst this persuasion is prevalent in it, although it cannot attain any
comfortable assurance of an especial interest in it, yet it cannot but
love, honour, value, and cleave unto this way, adoring the wisdom
and grace of God in it; which is an act and evidence of saving faith.
See Ps. cxxx. 3, 4. Yea, —
2. It will preserve the soul from heartless despondencies. Many
in their temptations, darknesses, fears, surprisals by sin, although
VOL. V. 27
418 EVIDENCES OF THE
tliey fall [not] into ruining desperation, yet tliey fall under such
desponding fears and various discouragements, as keep thefia off from
a vigorous endeavour after a recovery: and hereon, for want of the
due exercise of giMce, they grow weaker and darker every day, and
are in danger to pine away in their sins. But where faith keeps the
soul constant unto the approbation of God's way of saving sinners, as
that wherein the glory of God and its own salvation are not only
fully reconciled but made inseparable, it will stir up all graces unto a
due exercise, and the diligent performance of all duties, whereby it
may obtain a refreshing sense of a personal interest in it.
3. It will keep the heart full of kindness towards God ; whence
love and gracious hope will spring. It is mipossible but that a soul
overwhelmed with a sense of sin, and thereon filled with self-con-
demnation, but if it hath a view of the consistency of the glory of
God with its deliverance and salvation, through a free contrivance of
infinite wisdom and grace, it must have such kindness for him, such
gracious thoughts of him, as will beget and kindle in it both love and
hope, as Mic. vii. 18-20; Ps. Ixxxv. 8; 1 Tim. i. 15.
4. A steady continuance in the approbation of God's way of sal-
vation, on the reason mentioned, will lead the mind into that exer-
cise of faith which both declares its nature and is the spring of all
the saving benefits which we receive by it. Now, this is such a spiri-
tual light into, and discovery of, the revelation and declaration made
in the gospel of the wisdom, love, grace, and mercy of God in Christ
Jesus, and the way of the communication of the effect of them
unto sinners by him, as that the soul finds them suited unto and
able for the pardon of its own sins, its righteousness and salvation ;
so as that it placeth its whole trust and confidence for these ends
therein.
This being the very life of faith, that act and exercise of it whereby
Ave are justified and saved, and whereby it evidenceth its truth and
sincerity against all temptations, I shall insist a little on the explana-
tion of the description of it now given. And there are three things
in it, or required unto it: —
(1.) A spiritual light into, and discovery of, the revelation and de-
claration made in the gospel of the wisdom, love, grace, and mercy
of God in Christ Jesus. It is not a mere assent unto the truth of
the revelation or authority of the revealer; — this, indeed, is sup-
posed and included in it; but it adds thereunto a spiritual discern-
ing, perception, and understanding of the things themselves revealed
and declared ; without which, a bare assent unto the truth of the
revelation is of no advantage. This is called " The light of the know-
ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6 ;
the increase whereof in all believers the apostle doth earnestly pray
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 4 J 9
for, Eph. i. 15-20. So we discern spiritual things in a spiritual
manner; and hence ariseth "the full assurance of understanding, to
the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and
of Christ," Col. ii. 2 ; or a spiritual sense of the power, glory, and
beauty of the things contained in this mystery: so to know Christ
as to know "the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings," Phil. iii. 10.
Faith affects the mind with an ineffable sense, taste, experience,
and acknowledgment of the greatness, the glory, the power, the
beauty of the things revealed and proposed in this way of salvation.
The soul in it is enabled to see and understand that all the thing's
belonging unto it ai'e such as become God, his wisdom, goodness, and
love; as was before declared. And a spiritual light enabling hereunto
is of the essence of saving faith ; unless this be in us, we do not, we
cannot, give glory to God in any assent unto the truth. And faith
is that grace which God hath prepared, fitted, and suited, to give
unto him the glory that is his due in the work of our redemption
and salvation.
(2.) Upon this spiritual light into this revelation of God and his
glory, in this way of saving sinners, the mind by faith finds and sees
that all things in it are suited unto its own justification and salvation
in particular, and that the power of God is in them to make them
effectual unto that end. This is that act and work of faith whereon
the whole blessed event doth depend. It will not avail a man to see
all sorts of viands and provisions, if they be no way suited unto his
appetite, nor meet for his nourishment; nor will it be unto a man's
spiritual advantage to take a view of the excellencies of the gospel,
unless he find them suited unto his condition. And this is the hardest
task and work that faith hath to go through with.
Faith is not an especial assurance of a man's own justification and
salvation by Christ; that it will produce, but not until another step
or two in its progress be over : but faith is a satisfactory persuasion
that the way of God proposed in the gospel is fitted, suited, and able
to save the soul in particular that doth believe, — not only that it is
a blessed way to save sinners in general, but that it is such a way
to save him in particular. So is this matter stated by the apostle,
1 Tim. i. 15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accepta-
tion," or approbation, " that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief" His faith doth not abide here,
nor confine itself unto this, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, — that this is the holy and blessed way of God for the
salvation of sinners in general; but he puts in for his own particular
interest in that way : " It is God's way, fitted, and suited, and able to
save me, who am the cliiefest of sinners."
420 • EVIDEXCES OF THE
And this, as was said, is the gi'eatest and the most difficult work
of faith ; for we suppose, concerning the person who is to believe, —
[1.] That he is really and effectually convinced of the sin of [our]
nature, of our apostasy from God therein, the loss of his image, and
the direful effects that ensue thereon. [2.] That he hath due ap-
prehensions of the holiness and severity of God, of the sanction and
curse of the law, with a right understanding of the nature of sin and
its demerit. [3.] That he have a full conviction of his own actual
sins, with all their aggravations, from their greatness, their number,
and all sorts of circumstances. [4.] That he hath a sense of the guilt
of secret or unknown sins, which have been multiplied by that con-
tinual proneness unto sin which he finds working in him. [5.] That
he seriously consider what it is to appear before the judgment-seat
of God, to receive a sentence for eternity, with all other things of
the like nature, inseparable from him as a sinner.
When it is really thus with any man, he shall find it the hardest
thing in the world, and clogged with the most difficulties, for him to
believe that the way of salvation proposed unto him is suited, fitted,
and every way able to save him in particular, — to apprehend it such
as none of his oojections can rise up against, or stand before. But
this is that, in the second place, that the faith of God's elect will do :
it will enable the soul to discern and satisfy itself that there is in
this way of God every thing that is needful unto its own salvatiou.
And this it will do on a spiritual understanding and due considera-
tion of, — [1.] The iufiniteness of that wisdom, love, grace, and mercy,
which is the original or sovereign cause of the whole way, with the
ample declaration and confirmation made of them in the gospel.
[2.] Of the unspeakably glorious w^ay and means for the procuring
and communicating unto us of all the effects of that wisdom, grace,
and mercy, — namely, the incarnation and mediation of the Son of
God, in his oblation and intercession. [3.] Of the great multitude
and variety of precious promises, engaging the truth, faithfulness, and
jDOwer of God, for the communication of righteousness and salvation
from those springs, by that means. I say, ou the just consideration
of these things, with all other encouragements wherewith they are
accompanied, the soul concludes by faith that there is salvation for
itself in particular, to be attained in that way.
(3.) The last act of faith, in the order of nature, is the soul's acqui-
escency in, and trust unto, this way of salvation for itself and its
own eternal condition, with a renunciation of all other ways and
means for that end. And because Jesus Christ, in his person, media-
tion, and righteousness, is the life and centre of this wa}^, as he in
"whom alone God will glorify his wisdom, love, grace, and mercy, — as
he who hath purchased, procured, and wrought all this salvation for
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT 421
US, — whose righteousness is imputed unto us for our justification, and
who in the discharge of his office doth actually bestow it upon us, — he
is the proper and immediate object of faith, in this act of trust and
affiance. This is that which is called in the Scripture believing in
Christ, — namely, the trusting unto him alone for life and salvation,
as the whole of divine wisdom and grace is administered by him unto
these ends. For this we come unto him, we receive him, we believe
in him, we trust hira, we abide in him; with all those other ways
whereby our faith in him is expressed.
And this is the second ground or reason whereon faith doth close
with, embrace, and approve of God's way of saving sinners ; whereby
it v/ill evidence itself, unto the comfort of them in whom it is, in the
midst of all their trials and temptations.
Thirdly, Faith approves of this vvay, as that which makes the
glory of God, in the giving and the sanction of the law, to be as emi-
nently conspicuous as if it had been perfectly fulfilled by every one
of us in our own persons. The laAV was a just representation of the
righteousness and holiness of God; and the end for which it was
given was, that it might be the means and instrument of the eternal
exaltation of his glory in these holy properties of his nature. Let
no man imagine that God hath laid aside this law, as a thing of no
more use; or that he will bear a diminution of that glory, or any
part of it, which he designed in the giving of it. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but no jot or tittle of the law shall do so. No be-
liever can desire, or be pleased with, his own salvation, unless the
glory of God designed by the law be secured. He cannot desire that
God should forego any part of his glory that he might be saved.
Yea, this is that on the account whereof he principally rejoiceth in
his own salvation, — namely, that it is that wherein God will be abso-
lutely, vmiversally, and eternally glorified.
Now, in this way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ, by mercy, par-
don, and the righteousness of another (of all which the law knows
nothing), faith doth see and understand how all that glory which God
designed in the giving of the law is eternally secured and preserved
entire, without eclipse or diminution. The way whereby this is done
is declared in the gospel. See Kom. iii, 24-26, viii, 2-4, x. 3, 4.
Hereby faith is enabled to answer all the challenges and charges of
the law, with all its pleas for the vindication of divine justice, truth,
and holiness; it hath that to offer which gives it the utmost satisfac-
tion in all its pleas for God : so is this answer managed, Rom. viii,
82-34.
And this is the first way whereby the faith of God's elect doth evi-
dence itself in the minds and consciences of them that do believe, in
the midst of all their contests with sin, their trials and temptations.
422 EVIDENCES OF THE
to their relief and comfort, — namely, the closing with, and approba-
tion of, God's way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ, on the grounds
and reasons which have been declared.
II-
The second evidence of the faith of God's elect.
The second way whereby true faith doth evidence itself in the souls
and consciences of believers, unto their supportment and comfort
under all their conflicts with sin, in all their trials and temptations,
is by a constant approbation of the revelation of the will of God in
the Scripture concerning our holiness, and the obedience unto him-
self which he requireth of us. This faith will never forego, whatever
trials it may undergo, whatever darkness the mind may fall into; this
it will abide by in all extremities. And that it may appear to be a
peculiar effect or work of saving faith, some things are to be premised
and considered: —
1- There is in all men by nature a light enabling them to judge of
the difference that is between Avhat is morally good and what is evil,
especially in things of more than ordinary importance. This light is
not attained or acquired by us ; we are not taught it, we do not learn
it: it is born with us, and inseparable from us; it prevents [exists
previously to] consideration and reflection, working naturally, and in
a sort necessarily, in the first actings of our souls.
And the discerning power of this light, as to the moral nature of
men's actions, is accompanied inseparably with a judgment that they
make concerning themselves as unto what they do of the one kind
or other, and that with respect unto the superior judgment of God
about the same things. This the apostle expressly ascribes unto the
Gentiles, who had not the law, Rom. ii. 14, 15 : " The Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these,
having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Avhich show the work
of the law written in their hearts, their consciences also bearing wit-
ness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one
another." This is a most exact description of a natural conscience, in
both the powers of it ; it discerns that good and evil which is com-
manded and forbidden in the law, and it passeth an acquitting or
condemning judgment and sentence, according to what men have done.
Wherefore, this approbation of duties in things moral is common
unto all men. The light whereby it is guided may be variously im-
proved, as it was in some of the Gentiles; and it may be stifled in
Bome, until it seem to be quite extinguished, until they become like
the beasts that perish. And where the discerning power of this light
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 423
remains, yet, througli a continual practice of sin and obduracy therein,
the judging power of it as unto all its efficacy may be lost: so the
apostle declares concerning them who are judicially hardened and
given up unto sin, Rom. i. 32, " These, knowing the judgment of God,
that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only
do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." They still
discern what is evil and sinful, and know what is the judgment of
God concerning such things; but yet the love of sin and custom in
siuning do so far prevail in them, as to contemn both their own light
and God's judgment, so as to delight in what is contrary unto them.
These the apostle describes, Eph. iv. 19, " Being past feeling" (all
sense of convictions), " they have given themselves over unto lasci-
viousness, to work all uncleanness with gi'eediness;" such as the
world is filled withal at this day.
This is not that approbation of obedience which we inquire after;
it is, in some measure, in the worst of men, nor hath it any likeness
unto that duty of faith which we treat of, as will immediately appear.
2. There is a farther knowledge of good and evil by the law, and
this is also accompanied with a judgment acquitting or condemning;
for the law hath the same judging power and authority over men
that their own consciences have, — namely, the authority of God him-
self The law is to sinners as the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
— it opens their eyes to see the nature of what they have done; for
'' b}' the law is the knowledge of sin," Rom. iii. 20 : and so is the
knowledge of duty also; for it is the adequate rule of all duty. There
is, I say, a knowledge and conviction of duty and sin communicated
unto men by the law, and those fax more clear and distinct than what
is or can be found in men from the mere light of nature ; for it ex-
tends to more instances, that being generally lost where it is alone,
as unto many im2:»ortant duties and sins; and it declareth the nature
of every sin and duty far more clearly than natural light of itself
can do.
And this knowledge of good and evil by the law may be so im-
proved in the minds of men as to press them unto a performance of
all known duties, and an abstinence from all known sins, with a
judgment on them all. But yet herein doth not consist that appro-
bation of holiness and obedience which faith will produce; for, —
(1.) As unto approbation or condemnation of good or evil: that
which is by the law is particular, or hath respect unto particular
duties and sins, according as occasion doth present them ; and extends
not unto the whole law absolutely, and all that is required in it. I
do not say it is always partial; there is a legal sincerity that may
have respect unto all kno^vn duties and sins, though it be very rare.
Hardly shall we find a person merely under the power of the law,
424 EVIDENCES OF THE
who doth not evidence an indulgence unto some sin, and a neglect of
some duties: but such a thing there may be; it was in Paul, in his
Pharisaism, — he was, " touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless," Phil. iii. 6. He allowed not himself in any known sin,
nor in the neglect of any known duty; nor could others charge him
with any defect therein, — he was blameless. But where this is, still
this approbation or condemnation is particular, — that is, they do re-
spect particular duties and sins as they do occur; there is not a respect
in them unto the whole righteousness and holiness of the law, as we
shall see. Wherefore, a man may approve of every duty in its season
as it is offered unto him, or when at any time he thinks of it by an
act of his fixed judgment; and so, on the contrary, as unto sin; and
yet come short of that approbation of holiness and righteousness
which we inquire after.
(2.) It is not accompanied with a love of the things themselves
that are good, as they are so, and a hatred of the contrary; for the
persons in whom it is do not, cannot, " delight in the law of God after
the inward man," as Rom. vii. 22, so as to approve of it, and all that
is contained in it, cleaving to them with love and delight. They
may have a love for this or that duty, and a hatred of the contrary,
but it is on various considerations, suited unto their convictions and
circumstances; but it is not on the account of its formal nature, as
good or evil. Wh'erefore, —
(3.) No man, without the light of saving faith, can constantly and
universally approve of the revelation of the will of God, as unto our
holiness and obedience.
To make this evident, which is the foundation of our present dis-
covery of the acting of saving faith, we must consider, — [1.] What it
is that is to be approved. [2.] What this approbation is, or wherein
it doth consist: —
[1.] That which is to be approved is the holiness and obedience
which God requireth in us, our natures, and actions, and accepts from
us, or accepts in us. It is not particular duties as they occur unto
us, taken alone and by themselves, but the universal correspondence
of our natures and actions unto the will of God. The Scripture
giveth us various descriptions of it, because of the variety of graces
and gracious operations which concur therein. We may here mention
some of its principal concerns, having handled the nature of it at
large elsewhere; for it may be considered, — 1st. As unto its founda-
tion, spring, and causes: and this is the universal renovation of our
natures into the image of God, Eph. iv. 24; or the change of our
whole souls, in all their faculties and powers, into his likeness, where-
by we become new creatures, or the workmanship of God created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, 2 Cor. v. 17, Eph. ii. 10; wherein we
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 425
are originally and formally sanctified throughout, in our " whole
spirit, and soul, and body," 1 Thess. v. 23. It is the whole law of
God written in our hearts, transforming them into the image of the
divine holiness, represented therein. And this, next unto the blood
of Christ and his righteousness, is the principal spring of peace, rest,
and complacency, in and unto the souls of believers: it is their joy
and satisfaction to find themselves restored unto a likeness and con-
formity unto God, as we shall see farther immediately. And where
there is not some gracious sense and experience hereof, there is no-
thing but disorder and confusion in the soul; nothing can give it a
sweet composure, a satisfaction in itself, a complacency with what it
is, but a spiritual sense of this renovation of the image of God in it.
Idly. It may be considered as unto its permanent p7-inciple in
the mind and affections; and this, because of its near relation unto
Christ, its conjunction with him, and deiivation from him, is some-
times said to be Christ himself Hence we live, yet not so much we
as Christ liveth in us. Gal. ii. 20 ; for "without him we can do nothing,"
John XV. 5 ; for " he is our life," Col. iii. 4. As it resides in believers,
it is a permanent principle of spiritual life, light, love, and power,
acting in the whole soul and all the faculties of the mind, enabling
them to cleave unto God with purpose of heart, and to live unto
him in all the acts and duties of spiritual life : this is that whereby
the Holy Ghost is " in them a well of water, springing up into ever-
lasting life," John iv. 14. It is the spirit that is born of the Spirit;
it is the divine nature, whereof we are made partakers by the pro-
mises; it is a principle of victorious faith and love, with all graces
any way requisite unto duties of holy obedience ; as to the matter or
manner of their performance, enabling the soul unto all the acts of
the life of God, with delight, joy, and complacency.
This it is in its nature. However, as unto degrees of its operation
and manifestation, it may be very low and weak in some true be-
lievers, at least for a season; but there are none Avho really are so,
but there is in them a spiritually vital principle of obedience, or of
living unto God, that is participant of the nature of that which we
have described ; and if it be attended unto, it will evidence itself in
its power and operations unto the gTacious refreshment and satisfac-
tion of the soul wherein it is. And there are few who are so destitute
of those evidences but that they are able to say, " Whereas I was blind,
now I see, though I know not how my eyes were opened ; whereas
I was dead, I find motions of a new life in me, in breathing after
grace, in hungering and thirsting after righteousness, though I know
not how I was quickened."
3dly. It may be considered as unto its disposition, inclinations,
and motions. These are the first actings of a vital principle; as the
426 EVIDENCES OF THE
first actings of sin are called " tlie motions of sin" working in our
members, Rom. vii. 5. Such motions and inclinations unto obedience
do work in the minds of believers, from this principle of holiness; it
produceth in them a constant, invariable disposition unto all duties
of the life of God. It is a new nature, and a nature cannot be with-
out suitable inclinations and motions; and this new spiritual dispo-
sition consists in a constant complacency of mind in that which is
good and according to the will of God, in an adherence by love unto
it, in a readiness and fixedness of mind with respect unto particular
duties. In brief, it is that which David describes in the 119th
Psalm throughout, and that which is figuratively foretold concerning
the efficacy of the grace of the gospel in changing the natures and
dispositions of those that are partakers of it, Isa. xi. 6-8.
This every believer may ordinarily find in himself; for although
this disposition may be variously weakened, opposed, interrupted by
indwelling sin, and the power of temptation; though it may be im-
paired by a neglect of the stirring up and exercise of the principle
of spiritual life, in all requisite graces, on all occasions ; yet it will
still be working in them, and will fill the mind with a constant dis-
plicency with itself, when it is not observed, followed, improved.
No believer shall ever have peace in his own mind, who hath not
some experience of a universal disposition unto all holiness and god-
liness in his mind and soul : herein consists that love of the laAv, of
which it is said those in whom it is have " great peace, and nothing
shall offend them," Ps. cxix. 165; it is that wherein their souls find
much complacency.
4thly. It may be considered with respect unto all the acts, duties,
and works, internal and external, wherein our actual obedience doth
consist. Being, on the principles mentioned, made free from sin, and
becoming the servants of God, believers herein have their "fruit unto
holiness," whereof " the end is everlasting life," Rom. vi. 22. This
I need not stay to describe. Sincerity in every duty, and universality
with respect unto all duties, are the properties of it.
" This is the will of God, even your sanctification," 1 Thess. iv. 8 ;
that " holiness, without Avhich no man shall see the Lord," Heb.
xii. 14; "that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" which
we are to approve, Rom. xii. 2.
[2.] Our next inquiry is, what is that approbation of this way of
holiness which we place as an evidence of saving faith ? And I say,
it is such as ariseth from experience, and is accompanied with choice,
delight, and acquiescency ; it is the acting of the soul in a delight-
ful adherence unto the whole will of God ; it is a resolved judgment
of the beauty and excellency of that holiness and obedience which
the gospel reveals and requires, and that on the grounds which shall
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 427
be immediately declared, and the nature thereof therein more fully
opened.
This approbation cannot be in any unregenerate person, who is
not under the conduct of saving faith, who is destitute of the light
of it. So the apostle assures us, Kom. viii. 7, " The carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be." Whatever work it may have wrought in it, or
upon it, yet, whilst it is carnal or unrenewed, it hath a radical enmity
unto the law of God ; which is the frame of heart which stands in
direct opposition unto this approbation. It may think well of this
or that duty, from its convictions and other considerations, and so
attend unto their performance ; but the law itself, in the universal
holiness which it requires, it doth utterly dislike: those in whom it
is are " alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them," Eph. iv. 18. This life of God is that holiness and obedi-
ence which he requireth of us in their principles and duties ; and to
be alienated from it is to dislike and disapprove of it: and such is
the frame of mind in all unregenerate persons.
Having thus prepared the way, I return unto the declaration and
confirmation of the assertion, namely, —
That true and saving faith, in all storms and temptations, in all
darknesses and distresses, will evidence itself, unto the comfort and
supportment of them in luhom it is, by a constant, universal appro-
bation of the whole ivill of God, concerning our holiness and obe-
dience, both in general and in every particidar instance of it.
We may a little explain it : —
1. Faith will not suffer the mind, on any occasion or temptation,
to entertain the least dislike of this way of holiness, or of any thing
that belongs unto it. The mind may sometimes, through tempta-
tions, fall under apprehensions that one shall be eternally ruined
for want of a due compliance with it ; this makes it displeased with
itself, but not with the obedience required. Rom. vii. 10, 12, " The
commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death ;
but the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
" However it be with me, whatever becomes of me, though I die and
perish, yet the law is holy, just, and good." It dislikes nothing in
the will of God, though it cannot attain unto a compliance with it.
Sometimes the conscience is under perplexities and rebukes for sin ;
sometimes the mind is burdened by the tergiversation of the flesh
unto duties that are cross unto its inclinations and interests; some-
times the world threatens the utmost dangers unto the performance
of some duties of religion: but none of these are able to provoke the
soul that is under the conduct of ftiith to dislike, to think hard of,
any of those ways and duties whence these difficulties arise. And, —
428 EVIDENCES OF THE
2. As it will not dislike any thing in this way of holiness, so it
will not desire on any occasion that there should be any alteration
in it, or any abatement of it, or of any thing required in it. Naaman
the Syrian liked well of the worship of the true God in general; but
he would have an abatement of duty as to one instance, in compliance
with his earthly interest, which discovered his hypocrisy. Such ima-
ginations may befall the minds of men, that if they might be excused,
in this or that instance, unto duties that are dangerous and trouble-
some (like profession in the times of persecution), or might be in-
dulged in this or that sin, which either their inclinations are very
prone unto, or their secular interest do call for, they should do well
enough with all other things. Accordingly, the practice of many
doth answer their inclination and desire. They will profess religion
and obedience unto God, but will keep back part of the price ; — will
hide a wedge in their tents, through indulgence unto some corrup-
tion, or dislike of some duties in their circumstances: they Avould
give unto themselves the measure of their obedience. And according
as men's practice is, so do they desire that things indeed should be,
• — that that practice should please God which pleaseth them. This
faith abhors; the soul that is under the conduct of it is not capable
of any one desire that any thing were otherwise than it is in the will
of God concerning our holiness and obedience, no more than it can
desire that God should not be what he is. No ; though any imagina-
tion should arise in it, that by some change and abatement in some
instances it might be saved, which now is uncertain Vv^hether that be
so or no, it will admit of no such composition, but will choose to stand
or fall unto the entire will of God.
We shall therefore, in the next place, proceed to inquire on what
grounds it is that faith doth thus approve of the whole will of God,
as imto our holiness and obedience; as also, how it evidenceth itself
so to do. And these grounds are two : — the one respecting God ; the
other, our own souls.
First, Faith looks on the holiness required of us as that which is
suited unto the holiness of God himself, — as that which it is meet for
him to require, on the account of his own nature, and the infinite per-
fections thereof. The rule is, " Be ye holy, for I the LoED your God
am holy ;" — " I require that of you which becometh and answereth my
own holiness; because I am holy, it is necessary that you should be
so ; if you are mine in a peculiar manner, your holiness is that which
becometh my holiness to requii'e."
We have before declared Avhat this gospel holiness is, wherein it
doth consist, and what is required thereunto; — and they may be all
considered either as they are in us, inherent in us, and performed by
us; or as they are in themselves, in their own nature, and in the will
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 429
of God. In the first way, I acknowledge that, by reason of our weak-
nesses, imperfections, and partial renovation only, as to degrees, in
this life, with our manifold defects and sins, they make not a clear
representation of the holiness of God; however, they are the best
image of it, even as in the meanest of believers, that this world can
afford. But in themselves, and their own nature, as it lies in the will
of God, they make up the most glorious representation of himself
that God ever did or will grant in this world ; especially if we com-
prise therein the exemplification of it in the human nature of Christ
himself: for the holiness that is in believers is of the same nature and
kind with that which was and is in Jesus Christ, though his exceed
theirs inconceivably in degrees of perfection.
Wherefore we are required to be holy, as the Lord our God is holy;
and perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect : which we could not
be, but that in our holiness and perfection there is a resemblance and
answerableness unto the holiness and perfection of God. And if a due
sense hereof were continually upon our hearts, it would influence us
unto gi'eater care and diligence in all instances of duty and sin than,
for the most part, we do attain unto and preserve. If we did on all
occasions sincerely and severely call ourselves to an account whether
our frames, ways, and actions bear a due resemblance unto the holi-
ness and perfections of God, it would be a spiritual preservative on
all occasions.
Faith, I say, then, discerneth the likeness of God in this holiness,
and every part of it, — sees it as that which becomes him to require ;
and thereon approves of it, reverencing God in it all : and it doth so
in all the parts of it, in all that belongs unto it.
1. It doth so principally in the inward form of it, which we before
described, — in the new creature, the new nature, the reparation of the
image of God that is in it : in the beauty hereof it continually beholds
the likeness and glory of God. For it is created %ara Qi6v, — according
unto God, after him, or in his image, — " in righteousness and true holi-
ness," Eph. iv. 24. " The new man is renewed after the image of
him that created him," Col. iii. 10.
When God first created all things, the heavens and the earth, with
all that is contained in them, he left such footsteps and impressions
of his mfinite wisdom, goodness, and power, on them, that they might
signify and declare his perfection, — his eternal power and Godhead ;
yet did he not, he is not said to have created them in his own image.
And this was because they were only a passive representation of him
in the light of others, and not in themselves ; nor did they represent
at all that wherein God will be principally glorified among his crea-
tures,— namely, the universal rectitude of his nature in righteousness
and holiness. But of man it is said, peculiarly and only, that he Nsaa
430 EVIDENCES OF THE
made in the image and likeness of God : and this was because, in the
rectitude of his nature, he represented the hohness and righteousness
of God; which is the only use of an image. This was lost by sin.
Man in his fallen condition doth no more represent God; there is
nothing in him that hath any thing of the likeness or image of God
in it; all is dead, dark, perverse, and confused. This new nature,
whereof we speak, is created of God for this very end, that it may be
a blessed image and representation of the holiness and righteousness
of God. Hence it is called the " divine nature," whereof we are par-
takers, 2 Pet. i. 4. And he that cannot see a representation of God
in it, hath not the light of faith and life in him.
Hereon, I say, faith doth approve of the form and principle of this
holiness, as the renovation of the image of God in us; it looks upon
it as that which becomes God to bestow and require, and therefore
that which hath an incomparable excellency and desirableness in it.
Yea, when the soul is ready to faint under an apprehension that it
is not partaker of this holy nature, because of the power of sin in it
and temptations on it, it knows not whether itself be bom of God or
no (as is the case with many) ; — yet where this faith is, it will discern
the beauty and glory of the new creation in some measure, as that
which bears the image of God; and thereon doth it preserve in the
soul a longing after it, or a farther participation of it.
By this work or act of it doth faith discover its sincerity; which is
that which we inquire after. Whilst it hath an eye open to behold the
glory of God in the new creature, whilst it looks on it as that wherein
there is a representation made of the holiness of God himself, as that
which becomes him to require in us, and thereon approves of it as
excellent and desirable, it will be an anchor unto the soul in its great-
est storms ; for this is a work beyond what a mere enlightened con-
science can arise unto. That can approve or disapprove of all the
acts and effects of obedience and disobedience, as unto their conse-
quents; but to discern the spiritual nature of the new creature, as
representing the holiness of God himself, and thereon constantly to
approve of it, is the work [of faith] alone.
2. It doth the same with respect unto the internal acts and effects
of this new creature, or principle of new obedience. The first thing
it produceth in us is a frame of mind spiritual and heavenly; they
that are after the Spirit are " spiritually-minded," Rom. viii. 5, 6. It
looks on the opposite frame, namely, of being carnally-minded, as
vile and loathsome; it consisting in a readiness and disposition of
mind to actuate the lusts of the flesh. But this spiritual frame of
mind, in a just constellation of all the graces of the Spirit, influencing,
disposing, and making ready the soul for the exercise of them on all
occasions, and in all duties of obedience, — this is the inward glory of
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 431
the " King's daughter,'"' which faith sees and approves of, as that
which becometh God to require in us; whatever is contrary hereunto,
as a sensual, carnal, worldly frame of mind, it looks on as vile and
base, unworthy of God, or of those who design the enjoyment of him.
3. It doth the same with respect unto all particular duties, internal
and external, when they are enlivened and filled up with grace. In
them consists our "walking worthy of God, ' Col. i. 10, 1 Thess. ii. 12,
— such a walk as is meet for God to accept ; that whereby and wherein
he is glorified. The contrary hereunto, in the neglect of the duties
of holiness, or the performance of them without the due exercise of
grace, faith looks on as unworthy of God, unworthy of our high and
holy calling, unworthy of our profession, and therefore doth constantly
condemn and abhor.
All this, as we observed before, faith will continue to do constantly,
under temptations and desertions. There are seasons wherein the
soul may be very weak, as unto the powers, effects, and duties of this
spiritual life ; such the psalmist oftentimes complains of in his own
case, and it is evident in the experience of most. Few there are who
have not found, at one time or another, great weakness, decays, and
much deadness in their spiritual condition. And sometimes true
believers may be at a loss as unto any refreshing experience of it in
its operations. They may not be able to determine in the contest
whether sin or grace have the dominion in them. Yet even in all
these seasons faith will keep up the soul unto a constant high appro-
bation of this way of holiness and obedience, in its root and fruits,
in its principle and effects, in its nature, disposition, and duties.
For when they cannot see the beauty of these things in themselves,
they can see it in the promises of the covenant, in the truth of the
gospel, wherein it is declared, and in the effects of it in others.
And great advantage is to be obtained by the due exercise of faith
herein. For, —
(1.) It will never suffer the heart to be at rest in any sinful way,
or under an}'- such spiritual decays as shall estrange it from the pur-
suit of this holiness. The sight, the conviction of its excellency, the
approbation of it, as that which in us and our measure answers the
holiness of God, will keep up the mind unto endeavours after it, will
rebuke the soul in all its neglects of it; nor will it allow any quiet
or peace within, without an endeavour after a comfortable assurance
of it. That soul is desperately sick which hath lost an abiding sense
of the excellency of this holiness, in its answerableness unto the holi-
ness and will of God. Fears and checks of conscience are the whole
of its security against the worst of sins ; and they are a guard not to
be trusted unto in the room of the peace of God. This is one great
difference between believers and those that have not iaith. Fear of
482 EVIDENCES OF THE
tlie consequents of sin, with an apprehension of some advantages
which are to be obtained by a sober life and the profession of reli-
gion, do steer and regulate the minds of unbelievers, in all they do
towards God or for eternity; but the minds of believers are influenced
by a view of the glory of the image and likeness of God in that holi-
ness, and all the parts of it, which they are called unto. This gives
them love unto it, delight and complacency in it, enabling them to
look upon it as its own rewai-d. And without these affections none
will ever abide in the w^ays of obedience unto the end.
(2.) Where faith is in this exercise, it will evidence itself, unto the
relief of the soul, in all its darkness and temptations. The mind can
never conclude that it wholly is Avithout God and his grace, whilst
it constantly approves of the holiness required of us. This is not of
ourselves ; by nature we are ignorant of it. This " life is hid with
Christ in God," Col. iii. 3, where we can see nothing of it; hereon
we are alienated from it, and do dislike it: "Alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in us," Eph. iv. 18. And most
men live all their days in a contempt of the principal evidences and
duties of this life of God, and of the principle of it, which they look
on as a fable. Wherefore, the mind may have great satisfaction in a
sight of the beauty and approbation of this holiness, as that which
nothing can produce but sincere and saving faith.
Secondly, Faith approves of this way of holiness and obedience,
as that which gives that rectitude and perfection unto our nature
whereof it is capable in this world. It is the only rule and measure
of them; and whatever is contrary thereunto is perverse, crooked,
vile, and base. Some men think that their nature is capable of no
other perfection but what consists in the satisfaction of their lusts;
they know no other blessedness, nothing that is suitable to their
desires, but the swing of nature, in the pursuit of its corrupt lusts
and pleasures. So are they described by the apostle, Eph. iv. 19.
The business of their lives is to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil
it in the lusts thereof; they walk in the lusts of the flesh, " fulfilling"
(so far as they are able) " the desires of the flesh and of the mind,"
Eph. ii. 3. They neither know nor understand what a hell of con-
fusion, disorder, and base degeneracy from the original constitution,
their minds are filled withal. This perfection is nothing but the next
disposition unto hell ; and it doth manifest its own vileness unto every
one who hath the least ray of spiritual light.
Some among the heathen placed the rectitude of nature in moral
virtues and operations, according unto them ; and this was the utmost
that natural light could ever rise up unto : but the uncertainty and
weakness hereof are discovered by the light of the gospel.
It is faith alone that discovei-s what is good for us, in us, and unto
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 433
US, Avhilst we are in this world. It is in the renovation of the imao-e
of God in us, — in the change and transformation of our nature into
his Hlieness, — in acting from a gracious principle of a divine life, —
in duties and operations suited thereunto, — in the participation of
the divine nature by the promises, — that the good, the perfection,
the order, the present blessedness of our nature do consist.
Hereby are the faculties of our souls exalted, elevated, and enabled
to act primigenial powers, with respect unto God and our enjoyment
of hail ; which is our utmost end and blessedness. Hereby are our
affections placed on their proper objects (such as they were created
meet for, and in closing wherewith their satisfaction, order, and rest
do consist), — namely, God and his goodness, or God as revealed in
Jesus Christ by the gospel. Hereby all the powers of our souls are
brought into a blessed frame and harmony in all their operations, —
whatever is dark, perverse, unquiet, vile, and base, being cast out of
them. But these things must be a little more distinctly explained.
1. There is in this gospel holiness, as the spring and principle of
it, a spiritual, saving light, enabling the mind and understanding to
know God in Christ, and to discern spiritual things in a spiritual,
saving maimer ; for herein " God shines into our hearts, to give us
the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6.
Without this, in some degree, whatever pretence there may be or
appearance of holiness in any, there is nothing in them of what is
really so, and thereon accepted with God. Blind devotion, — that is,
an inclination of mind unto religious duties, destitute of this light, —
will put men on a multiplication of duties, especially such as are of
their own invention, in " a show of wisdom in will-worship, and hu-
mility, and neglecting of the body," as the apostle speaks. Col. ii. 23 ;
wherein there is nothing of gospel holiness.
" The new man is renewed in knowledoe after the imao'e of him
that created him," Col. iii. 10. That this saving light and know-
ledge is the spring and principle of all real evangelical holiness and
obedience, the apostle declares in that description which he gives us
of the whole of it, both in its beginning and progress. Col. i. 9-11,
" We desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will,
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ; that ye might walk
worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge of God ; strengthened with all
might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-
suftering with joyfulness." It is a blessed account that is here given
us of that gospel holiness which we inquire alter, in its nature, ori-
ginal, spring, progress, fruits, and effects ; and a serious consideration
of it as here proposed, — a view of it in the light of faith, — will evi-
dence how distant and different it is from those schemes of moral
VOL. V. 28
434 EVIDENCES OF THE
virtues which some would substitute in its room. It hath a glory in
it which no unenlightened mind can behold or comprehend ; the
foundation of it is laid in the knowledge of the will of God, in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding. This is that spiritual, saving
light whereof we speak ; the increase hereof is prayed for in believers
by the apostle, Eph. i. 17, 18, even " that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, would give unto you the spirit of wis-
dom and revelation in the knowledge of him : the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened ; that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in
the saints;" which here is called "increasing in the knowledge of
God," verse 10. The singular glory of this saving light, in its ori-
ginal, its causes, use, and effects, is most illustriously here declared :
and this light is in every true believer, and is the only immediate
spring of all gospel holiness and obedience ; for " the new man is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him,"
Col. iii. 10.
This light, this wisdom, this spiritual understanding, thus commu-
nicated unto believers, is the rectitude and perfection of their minds in
this world. It is that which gives them order, and peace, and power,
enabling them to act all their faculties in a due manner, with respect
unto their being and end. It is that which gives beauty and glory
to the inward man, and which constitutes a believer an inhabitant of
the kingdom of light, — whereby we are " delivered from the power
of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God's
love," Col. i. IS ; or " out of darkness into his marvellous light," 1 Pet.
ii. 9.
That which is contrary hereunto, is that ignorance, darkness, blind-
ness, and vanity, which the Scripture declares to be in the minds of all
unregenerate persons ; and they are really so, where they are not cured
by the glorious working of the power and grace of God before men-
tioned.
Now, faith discerneth these things, as the spiritual man discern eth
all things, 1 Cor. ii. 15. It sees the beauty of this heavenly light,
and judgeth that it is that which giveth order and rectitude unto the
mind ; as also, that that which is contrary unto it is vile, base, horrid,
and to be ashamed of As for those who " love darkness more than
light, because their deeds are evil," — it knows them to be strangers
unto Christ and his gospel.
2. Again : there is required unto this holiness, a principle of spiri-
tual life and love unto God. This guides, acts, and rules in the soul,
in all its obedience; and it gives the soul its proper order in all its
operations: that which is contrary hereunto is death, and enmity
against God. Faith judgeth between these two principles and their
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 435
operations: the former in all its actings it approves of as lovely, beau-
tiful, desirable, as that which is the rectitude and perfection of the
will ; and the other it looks on as deformed, fro ward, and perverse.
3. The like may be said of its nature and operations in the affec-
tions, as also of all those duties of obedience which proceed from it,
as it is described in the place before mentioned.
It remaineth only that we show by what acts, ways, and means,
faith doth evidence this its appi'obation of gospel holiness, as that
which is lovely and desirable in itself, and which gives all that recti-
tude and perfection unto our minds which they are capable of in this
world. And it doth so, —
1. By that self-displicency and abasement which it works in the
mind on all instances and occasions where it comes short of this
holiness. This is the chief principle and cause of that holy shame
which befalls believers on every sin and miscarriage, wherein they
come short of what is required in it: Rom. vi. 21, "Those things
whereof ye are now ashamed." Now when, by the light of faith, you
see how vile it is, and unworthy of you, what a debasement of your
souls there is in it, you are ashamed of it. It is true, the principal
cause of this holy shame is a sense of the unsuitableness that is in
sin unto the holiness of God, and the horrible ingratitude and dis-
ingenuity that there is in sinning against him ; but it is greatly pro-
moted by this consideration, that it is a thing unworthy of us, and
that wherein our natures are exceedingly debased. So it is said of
provoking sinners, that they " debase themselves even imto hell," Isa.
Ivii. 9 ; or make themselves as vile as hell itself, by w^ays unworthy
the nature of men. And this is one ground of all those severe self-
reflections which accompany godly sorrow for sin, 2 Cor. vii. 11.
And hereby doth faith evidence itself and its own sincerity, whilst
a man is ashamed of, and abased in, himself for eveiy sin, for every
thing of sin, wherein it comes short of the holiness required of us, as
that which is base and unworthy of our nature, in its present consti-
tution and renovation; though it be that which no eye sees but God's
and his own, he hath that in him which will grow on no root but
sincere believing. Wherefore, whatever may be the disquieting con-
flicts of sin in and against our souls, whatever decays we may fall
into, — which be the two principles of darkness and fears in believers,
— whilst this inward holy shame and self-abasement, on account of
the vileness of sin, is preserved, faith leaves not itself without an evi-
dence in us.
2. It doth the same by a spiritual satisfaction, which it gives the
soul in every experience of the transforming power of this holiness,
rendering it more and more like unto God. There is a secret joy and
spiritual refreshment rising in the soul from a sense of its renovation
436 EVIDENCES OF THE
into the image of God; and all tlie actings and increases of the life
of God in it augment this joy. Herein consists its gradual return
unto its primitive order and rectitude, with a blessed addition of
supernatural light and gi'ace by Christ Jesus; it finds itself herein
coming home to God from its old apostasy, in the way of approaching
to eternal rest and blessedness: and there is no satisfaction like unto
that which it receives therein.
This is the second way wherein faith will abide firm and constant,
and doth evidence itself in the soul of every believer. However low
and mean its attainments be in this spiritual life and the fruits of it,
though it be overwhelmed with darkness and a sense of the guilt of
sin, though it be surprised and perplexed with the deceit and vio-
lence thereof, yet faith will continue here firm and unshaken. It sees
that glory and excellency in the holiness and obedience that God
requireth of us, — as it is a representation of his own glorious excellen-
cies, the renovation of his image, and the perfection of our natures
thereby, — as that it constantly approves of it, even in the deepest
trials which the soul can be exercised withal ; and whilst this anchor
holds firm and stable we are safe.
III.
The third evidence of the faith of God's elect.
Thirdly, Faith will evidence itself by a diligent, constant endea-
vour to keej) itself and all grace in due exercise in all ordinances of
divine worship, private and public.
This is the touch-stone of faith and spiritual obedience, the most
intimate and difficult part of this exercise; where this is not, there is
no life in the soul. There are two things whereby men do or may
deceive themselves herein: — 1. Abounding in the outward perform-
ance of duties or a multiplication of them. Hereby hypocrites have
in all ages deceived themselves, Isa. Iviii. 2, 3. And it was the cover-
ing that the church of Rome provided for their apostasy from the
gospel: an endless multiplication of religious duties was that which
they trusted to and boasted in. And we may find those daily that pre-
tend a conscience as unto the constant observation of outward duties,
and yet will abstain from no sin that comes in the way of their lusts.
And men may and do ofttimes abide constant in them, especially
in their families and in public, yea, multiply them beyond the ordi-
nary measure, hoping to countenance themselves in other lusts and
neglects thereby. 2. Assistance of gifts in the performance of them ;
but as this may be where there is not one dram of grace, saving
FAITH OP god's elect. 437
grace, so when rested in, it is a most powerful engine to keep the
soul in formality, to ruin all beginning of grace, and to bring an in-
curable hardness on the whole soul.
Wherever faith is in sincerity, it will constantly labour, endeavour,
and strive to fill up all duties of divine worship with the living, real,
heart acting of grace ; and where it doth not so, where this is not
attained, it will never suffer the soul to take any rest or satisfaction
in such duties, but will cast them away as a defiled garment. He
that can pass through such duties without a sensible endeavour for
the real exercise of grace in them, and without self-abasement on the
performance of them, will hardly find any other clear evidence of
saving faith in himself.
There are three evils that have followed the ignorance, or neglect,
or weariness of this exercise of faith, which have proved the ruin of
multitudes: —
1. This hath been the occasion and original of all false worsliip in
the world, with the invention of those superstitious rites and ceremo-
nies wherein it consists. For men having lost the exercise of faith in
the ordinances of worship that are of divine institution, they found
the whole of it to be useless and burdensome unto them ; for without
this constant exercise of faith there is no life in it, nor satisfaction to
be obtained by it. They must, therefore, have something in it, or
accompanying of it, which may entertain their minds, and engage
their affections unto it. If this had not been done, it would have
been utterly deserted by the most. Hereon were invented forms of
prayer in great diversity, with continual diversions and avocations of
the mind from what is proposed; because it cannot abide in the pur-
suit of any thing spiritual without the exercise of faith. This gives
it some entertainment by the mere performance, and makes it think
there is something where indeed is nothing. Hereunto are added
outward ceremonies of vestments, postures, and gestures of veneration,
unto the same end. There is no other design in them all but to en-
tertain the mind and affections with some complacency and satisfac-
tion in outward worship, upon the loss or want of that exercise of faith
which is the life and soul of it in believers. And as any persons do
decay herein, they shall find themselves insensibly sinking down into
the use of these lifeless forms, or that exercise of their natural facul-
ties and memory which is not one jot better; yea, by this means,
some, from an eminency in spiritual gifts, and the perfonnance of
duties by virtue of them, have sunk into an Ave Maria or a Credo,
as the best of their devotion.
2. This hath caused many to turn aside, to fall off from and for-
sake the solemn ordinances of divine worship, and to betake them-
selves unto vain imaginations for relief, in trembling, enthusiastical
438 EVIDENCES OF THE
singing and feigned raptures; from hence have so many forsaken
their own mercies to follow after lying vanities. They kept for a Avhile
unto the observance of the divine institutions of worship; but not
having faith to exercise in them, by which alone they are life and
power, they became useless and burdensome unto them: they could
find neither sweetness, satisfaction, nor benefit in them. It is not
possible that so many in our days, if ever they had tasted of the old
wine, should so go after new; — if ever they had experience of that
savour, power, and life, which is in the ordinances of divine worship,
when acted and enlivened by the exercise of faith, should forsake
them for that which is nothing: " They went out from us, but they
were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would have continued
with us." " Had they known it, they would not have crucified the
Lord of glory." This, therefore, is the true reason why so many in
our days, after they have for a season abode under, and in the obser-
vation of, the gospel ordinances of worship, have fallen off from them,
— namely, not having faith to exercise in them, nor endeavouring
after it, they did really find no life in them, nor benefit by them.
3. Some, on the same ground, fall into profaneness, pretending to
take up Avith a natural religion, without any instituted worship at
all. Of this sort of persons we have multitudes in the days wherein
we five ; having nothing of the light of faith, they can see no form or
comeliness in Christ, nor in any thing that belongs unto him. By
these means are souls every day precipitated into ruin.
Herein, therefore, I say, true faith will evidence itself in all dark-
nesses and distress whatsoever: it will always endeavour to keep it-
self, and all other graces, in a due and constant exercise in all duties
of worship, private and public. It may sometimes be weakened in its
actings and operations, it may be under decays, it may be as a sleep,
and that not only as mito particular duties and seasons, but as unto
the inward habitual frame of the mind ; but where it is true and
genuine, it will shake itself out of this dust, cast off the sin that doth
so easily beset us, and stir up itself, with all might and contention,
unto its duty. And there is no more dangerous state for a soul than
when it is sinking down into formality, and neglect of the exercise of
faith, in a multitude of duties ; then is it assuredly ready to die, if it
be not dead already.
If we are wise, therefore, we will watch, and take care that we
lose not this evidence of faith ; it will stand us in stead when, it may
be, all other things seem to be against us. Some have been relieved
by the remembrance of this exercise of faith, when they have been
at the door of desperation: — such or such a season they had ex-
perience of the work of faith in prayer, hath been their relief. An
experience hereof is a jewel, which may be of no great use whilst
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 489
it lies by you locked up in a cabinet, but which you will know the
worth of if ever you come to need bread for your lives.
It is, therefore, worth while to inquire what we ought to do, or
what means we ought to use, that we may keep up faith unto its due
exercise in all the parts of divine worship, so as that it may give us
a comforting evidence of itself in times of temptation and darkness?
And unto this end the ensuing directions may be of use : —
1. Labour to have your hearts always affected with a due sense
of the infinite perfections of the divine nature in all our approaches
unto him, especially of his sovereign power, holiness, immensity, and
omnipresence; and this will produce in us also a sense of infinite dis-
tance from him. As this is necessary, from the nature of the things
themselves, so the Scripture gives us such descriptions of God as are
suited to ingenerate this frame in us. This is that which Joshua
aimed to bring the people unto, when he designed to engage them in
the service of God in a due manner. Josh. xxiv. 19-22 ; and that which
the apostle requireth in us, Heb. xii. 28, 29. And unto the same end
glorious descriptions and appearances of God are multiplied in Scrip-
ture. If we fail herein, if we do not on all occasions fill our minds
with reverential thoughts of God, his greatness and his holiness, faith
hath no foundation to stand upon in its exercise in the duties of
worship. This is the only inlet into the due exercise of grace: where
it is wanting, all holy thoughts and affections are shut out of our
minds; and where it is present, it is impossible but that there will
be some gracious working of heart in all our duties. If we are empty
hereof in our entrance of duties, we shall be sure to be filled with
other things, which will be clogs and hinderances unto us ; but reve-
rential thoughts of God, in our approaches unto him, will cast out
all supei-fluity of naughtiness, and dissipate all carnal, formal frames,
which will vitiate all our duties. Keep j'our hearts, therefore, under
this charge in all your accesses unto God, and it will constantly open
a door unto that exercise of faith which we inquire after.
Hereon and herewith we shall be affected with a sense of our
infinite distance from him ; which is another means to stir up faith
unto its due exercise in reverence and godly fear. So Abraham was
affected, Gen. xviii. 27. [This is that] which the wise man directs us
unto, Eccles. v. 2.
Carnal boldness in the want of these things ruins the souls of men,
rendering all their duties of worship unacceptable unto God, and un-
profitable unto themselves.
2. Affect your hearts with a due sense of the unsuita])leuess of our
best duties unto his holiness and majesty, and of his infinite condescen-
sion in the acceptance of them. Suppose there is in any of our duties
the best and the most lively exercise of grace that we can attain unto,
440 EVIDENCES OF THE
the most fervency in prayer, with the most dihgent attendance of
our minds, the most humiUty and contrite trembhng in hearing the
word, the most devout affection of our minds in other parts of wor-
ship; alas! what is all this to God? how little doth it answer his
infinite holiness! See Job iv, 18, 19, xv. 15, 16. Our goodness
extends not unto him, Ps. xvi. 2, There are no measures, there is no
proportion, between the holiness of God and our best duties. There
is iniquity in our holy things; they have need of mercy and pardon,
of cleansing and justification, by the blood of Christ, no less than our
persons: and an infinite condescension it is in God to take any notice
of us or them ; yea, it is that which we must live in all holy admira-
tion of all our days.
Now if it be thus with our best duties, in our best frames, what
an outrage of sloth and negligence is it, if we bring the carcase of
duties unto God, for want of stirring up faith unto its due exercise in
them ! how great is this folly, how unspeakable is the guilt of this
negligence ! Let us, therefore, keep a sense hereof upon our hearts,
that we may always stir up ourselves unto our best in duties of re-
ligious worship. For, —
3. A negligence herein, or the want of stirring up faith unto a due
exercise in all duties of worship, is the highest affront we can put
upon God, arguing a great regardlessness of him. Whilst it is so with
us, we have not, we cannot have, a due sense of any of the divine
perfections, of the divine nature ; we turn God what lies in us into an
idol, supposing that he may be put off with the outside and appear-
ance of things. This the apostle cautioneth us against, Heb. iv. 12, 13,
and [is that] which God detests, Isa. xxix. 13; and he pronounceth
him a deceiver, and cursed, who offereth unto him the lame and blind
while he hath a male in the flock, Mai. i. 14. Yet thus is it with us,
in some degree, whenever \ve are negligent in stimng up faith into
its proper exercise in holy duties : that alone renders them the male
of the flock; without it they are lame and blind, — a corrupt thing.
It is a sad thing for men to lose their duties, to be at charge and
trouble in the multiplication of them, and attendance unto them to
no purpose. Oh, how much more sad is it when they are all provo-
cations of God's glory ! when they tend to increase the formality and
hardness of their hearts, towards the ruin of then' souls !
" Stand in awe," therefore, " and sin not ; commune with your own
hearts;" — cease not, until on all occasions you bring them into that
exercise of faith wherein you may glorify God as God, and not deal
with him as an idol.
4. Unto the same end, keep your souls always deeply affected with
a sense of the things about which you are to treat with God in all
the duties of his worship. They are referred imto two heads: —
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 441
(1.) Those which concern his glory; (2.) Those which concern our
own souls. Without a constant due sense of these things on our
hearts, faith will not act itself aright in any of our duties. Without
this intimate concern and deep sense, we know not whether we need
faith in our prayers, or have an exercise of it ; formality will drown
all. The best of our prayers is but an expression unto God of what
sense we have of these things. If we have none, we pray not at all,
whatever we say or do; but when these things dwell in our minds,
when we think on them continually, when our hearts cleave unto
them, faith will be at work in all our approaches to God. Can you
not pray ? charge your hearts with these things, and you will learn so
to do,
5. Watch diligently against those things which ye find by experi-
ence are apt to obstruct your fervency in duties. Such are indispo-
sitions through the flesh, or weariness of the flesh, distracting, foolish
imaginations, the occasions of life revolving in our minds, and the
like. If such impediments as these be not removed, if they be not
watched against, they will influence the mind, and suffocate the ex-
ercise of faith therein.
6. Above all, the principal rule herein is, that we would always
carefully remember the concernment of Christ in these duties, with
respect unto his office. He is the high priest over the house of God ;
through him, and under his conduct, are we always to draw nigh to
God; and his work it is to present the prayers and supplications of
the church to God. Now, we have no way to come unto Christ, for
his assistance in the discharge of his ofiice on our behalf, but by faith ;
and in all our duties of holy worship we make a profession of our
doing so,— of our coming unto God by him as our high priest. If we
endeavour not therein to have faith in exercise, how do we mock, or
make a show to him of doing that which indeed we endeavour not to
do ! There can be no greater contempt of Christ in his ofiice, nor
greater undervaluation of his love. But a due consideration hereof,
— namely, of the concernment of Christ in all our duties, with respect
unto the ofiice which he dischargeth for us in heaven, — is that which
directly leads faith into its proper exercise. For through him, and
that in discharge of his office, we believe in God. And when the
mind is exercised with due thoughts of him, if there be any thing of
true saving faith m the heart, it will act itself unto a blessed expe-
rience.
These things may be of use to stir us up, and guide us unto that
exercise of faith in all holy duties, an experience whereof abiding in
the soul Avill evidence the truth of it, unto our supportment and
comfort in all temptations and distresses.
Some, it may be, will say that their gift in prayer is mean and weak,
442 EVIDENCES OF THE
— that they cannot express themselves with earnestness and fervency;
and so know not whether there he any faith in exercise in their prayers
or no. I answer, There is nothing at all herein ; for grace may be
very high where gifts are very low, and that frequently.
And it may be others will complain of the meanness of their gifts
on whom they attend in prayer, which is such as they cannot accom-
pany them in the exei^cise of any grace. I answer, — 1. There is no
doubt but that there is a great difference in the spiritual gifts of men
in this matter, some being much more effectual unto edification than
others. 2. Take care that you are called in providence and duty to
join with them whom you intend; that you do not first voluntarily
choose that which is unto your disadvantage, and then complain of
it. 3. Be their gifts never so mean, if gi'ace in their own hearts be
exercised by it, so it may be in ours : where there is no evidence
thereof, I confess the case is hard. 4. Let the mind be still fixed on
the matter or things uttered in prayer, so as to close with, and act
faith about, what is a real object of it, and it will find its proper work
in that duty.
IV.
The fourth evidence of the faith of God's elect.
I COME, in the next place, to instance in a peculiar way whereby
true faith will evidence itself, — not always, but on some occasions:
and this is by bringing the soul into a state of repentance. And
three things must be spoken unto, — 1 . In general, what I intend by
this state of repentance. 2. What are the times and occasions, or
who are the persons, wherein faith will act itself unto this end. 3. What
are the duties required unto such a state.
1. By this state of repentance I do not understand merely the
grace and duty of evangelical repentance; for this is absolutely inse-
parable from true faith, and no less necessary unto salvation than
itself He that doth not truly and really repent of sin, whatever he
profess himself to believe, he is no true believer. But I intend now
somewhat that is peculiar, that is not common unto all, whereby on
some occasions faith doth evidence its power and sincerity.
Neither yet do I mean a grace, duty, or state, that is of another
kind or nature from that of gospel repentance, which is common to
all believers. There are not two kinds of true repentance, nor two
different states of them that are truly penitent ; all that I intend is
an eminent degTee of gospel repentance, in the habit or root, and in
all the fruits and effects of it. There are various degi'ees in the power
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 443
and exercise of gospel gi^aces, and some may be more eminent in one,
and some in another: as Abraham and Peter in faith, David and
John in love. And there may be causes and occasions for the greater
and higher exercise of some graces and duties at one time than at
another ; for we are to attend unto duties according unto our circum-
stances, so as we may glorify God in them, and advantage our own
souls. So the apostle James directs us, chap. v. 13, " Is any afflicted?
let him pray. Is any merry ? let him sing psalms." Several states,
and various circumstances in them, call for the peculiar exercise of
several graces, and the diligent performance of several duties. And
this is that which is here intended, — namely, a peculiar, constant,
prevalent exercise of the grace and duties of repentance in a singular
manner. What is requii^ed hereunto shall be afterward declared.
2. As unto the persons in whom this is required, and in whom
faith will evidence itself by it, they are of various sorts: —
(1.) Such as have been, by the power of their corruptions and temp-
tations, surprised into great sins. That some true believers may be
so, we have precedents both in the Old Testament and in the New ; —
such, I mean, as uncleanness, drunkenness, gluttony, theft, premedi-
tated lying, oppression in dealing, and failing in profession in the
time of persecution; this latter in the primitive church was never
thought recoverable but by faith acting itself in a state of repentance.
Such sins will have great sorrows ; as we see in Peter, and the incestu-
ous Corinthian, who was in danger to be "swallowed up with overmuch
sorrow," 2 Cor. ii. 7. Where it hath been thus with any, true faith
will immediately work for a recovery, by a thorough humiliation and
repentance, as it did in Peter; and in case that any of them shall lie
longer under the power of sin, through want of effectual convictions,
it will cost them dear in the issue, as it did David. But in this case,
for the most part, faith will not rest in the mere jointing again the
bone that was broken, or with such a recovery as gives them peace
with God and their own consciences; but by a just and due remem-
brance of the nature of their sin, its circumstances and aggravations,
the shameful unkindness towards God that was in it, the grief of the
Holy Spirit, and dishonour of Christ by it, it will incline and dispose
the soul to a humble, contrite frame, to a mournful walking, and the
universal exercise of repentance all its days.
And, indeed, where it doth not so, men's recovery from great sins
is justly to be questioned as unto their sincerity. For want hereof
it is that we have so many palliated cures of gi'eat sins, followed with
fearful and dangerous relapses. If a man subject to great corrup-
tions and temptations, hath by them been surprised into great actual
sins, and been seemingly recovered through humiliation and repent-
ance, if he again break the yoke of this stated repentance whereof we
444 EVIDENCES OF THE
speak, he will quickly again be overcome, and perhaps irrecoveiabl}'.
Herein, he alone that walketh softly, walketh safely.
(2.) It is necessary for such as have given scandal and offence by
their miscarriages; this will stick very close unto any who hath the
least spark of saving faith. It is that which God is in a peculiar
manner provoked with in the sins of his people ; as in the case of
David, 2 Sam. xii. 14, So also Ezek. xxxvi. 20; Eom. ii. 24. This
keeps alive the remembrance of sin, and sets it before men continu-
ally, and is a spring, in a gracious soul, of all acts and duties of re-
pentance. It was so in David all his days ; and probably in Mary
Magdalene also. Where it hath been thus with any, faith will keep
the soul in an humble and contrite frame, watchful against pride,
elation of mind, carelessness, and sloth: it will recover godly sorrow
aiid shame, with revenge, or self-reflection, in great abasement of
mind; all which things belong to the state of repentance intended.
They that can easily shake off a sense of scandal given by them, have
very little of Christian ingenuity in their minds.
(3.) It is so unto such as have perplexing lusts and corruptions,
which they cannot so subdue but that they will be perplexing and
defiling of them; for where there are such, they will, in conjunction
with temptations, frequently disquiet, wound, and defile the soul.
This brings upon it weariness and outcries for deliverance, Rom.
vii. 24. In this state faith will put the soul on prayer, watchfulness,
diligence, in opposition unto the deceit and violence of sin. But this
is not all; it wUl not rest here, but it will give the mind such a sense
of its distressed, dangerous condition, as shall fill it constantly Avith
godly sorrow, self-abasement, and all duties of repentance. No man
can hold out in such a conflict, nor maintain his peace on right
grounds, who doth not live in the constant exercise of repentance, —
indeed, who doth not endeavour in some measure to come up unto
that state of it which we shall afterward describe. For men Avho
have untameable corruptions working continually in their minds, by
imaginations, thoughts, and affections, to think to carry it in a gene-
ral way of duties and profession, they will be mistaken if they look
either for victory or peace; this sort of men are, of all others, most
peculiarly called unto this state and duty.
(4.) Such as would be found mourners for the sins of the age,
place, and time wherein they live, with the consequents of them, in
the dishonour of God, and the judgments which will ensue thereon.
There are times wherein this is an especial and eminent duty, which
God doth highly approve of. Such are they wherein the visible
church is greatly corrupted, and open abominations are found amongst
men of all sorts; even as it is at this day. Then doth the Lord
declare how much he values the performance of this duty, — as he
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 445
testifies, Ezek. ix. 4, they alone shall be under his especial care in a
day of public distress and calamity, — a duty wherein it is to be feared
that we are most of us very defective. Now, the frame of heart re-
quired hereunto cannot be attained, nor the duty rightly performed,
without that state of repentance and humiliation which we inquire
into. Without it we may have transient thoughts of these things,
but such as will very little aftect our minds ; but where the soul is
kept in a constant spiritual frame, it will be ready for this duty on
all occasions.
(5.) It becomes them who, having passed through the greatest
part of their lives, do find all outward things to issue in vanity and
vexation of spirit, as it was with Solomon when he wrote his Eccle-
siastes. When a man recounts the various scenes and appearances
of things which he hath passed through in his life, and the various
conditions he hath been in, he may possibly find that there is nothing
steady but sorrow and trouble. It may be so with some, I say, with
some good men, with some of the best men, as it was with Jacob.
Others may have received more satisfaction in their course ; but if
they also will look back, they shall find how little there hath been
in the best of their transient comforts ; they will see enough to make
them say, " There is nothing La these things ; it is high time to take
off all expectations from them." Such persons seem to be called
unto this especial exercise of repentance and mourning for the re-
mainder of their lives.
(6.) Such as whose hearts are really wounded and deeply affected
with the love of Christ, so as that they can hardly bear any longer
absence fi'om him, nor delight in the things wherein they are detained
and kept out of his presence. This frame the apostle describes,
2 Cor. V. 2, 4, 6, 8. They live in a groaning condition, thoroughly
sensible of all the evils that accompany them in this absence of the
Bridegroom ; and they cannot but continually reflect upon the sins
and follies which their lives have been and are filled withal, in this
their distance from Christ. Whereas, therefore, their hearts are filled
with inflamed affections towards him, they cannot but walk humbly
and mournfully until they come unto him. It may be said that those
who have experience of such affection unto the Lord Jesus cannot
})ut have continual matter of joy in themselves; and so of all men
have least need of such a state of constant humiliation and repent-
ance. I say it is so indeed, they have such matter of joy ; and there-
with Christ will be formed in them more and more every day. But
I say also, there is no inconsistency between spiritual joy in Christ
and godly sorrow for sin ; yea, no man in this life shall ever be able
to maintain solid joy in his heart, without the continual working of
godly sorrow also ; yea, there is a secret joy and refreshment in godly
446 EVIDENCES OF THE
sorrow, equal unto the eliiefest of our joys, and a great spiritual
satisfaction.
These several sorts of persons, I say, are peculiarly called unto
that exercise of faith in repentance which we inquire after.
Before I proceed to show wherein this state I intend doth consist,
and what is required thereunto (which is the last thing proposed), I
shall premise some rules for the right judging of ourselves with re-
spect unto them. As, —
1. Faith will evidence its truth (which is that we inquire after) in
its sincere endeavour after the things intended, though its attain-
ments as unto some of them be but mean and low ; yea, a sense of
its coming short in a full answering of them or compliance with
them, is a great ingredient in that state called unto. If, therefore,
faith keep up this design in the soul, with a sincere pursuit of it,
though it fail in many things, and is not sensible of any great pro-
gress it makes, it will therein evidence its sincerity.
2. Whereas there are sundry things, as we shall see, required here-
unto, it is not necessary that they should be found all equally in all
who design this state and frame. Some may be more eminent in one
of them, some in another ; some may have great helps and further-
ances unto some of them in a peculiar manner, and some great
obstructions in the exercise of some of them. But it is required
that they be all radically in the heart, and be put forth in exercise
sometimes, on their proper occasions.
8. This state, in the description of it, will sufficiently distinguish
itself from that discontent of mind whereon some withdraw them-
selves from the occasions of life, rather condemning others than them-
selves, on mere weariness of the disappointments of the world, which
hath cast some into crooked paths.
1. The FIRST thing required hereunto is weanedness from the world.
The rule of most men is, that all things are well enough with them,
with respect unto the world, whilst they keep themselves from known
particular sins in the use of the things of it. Whilst they do so in
their own apprehensions, they care not how much they cleave unto
it, — are even swallowed up in the businesses and occasions of it. Yea,
some will pretend unto and make an appearance of a course of life
more than ordinarily strict, whilst their hearts and affections cleave
visibly to this world and the things of it. But the foundation of
the work of faith we inquire into must be laid in mortification and
weanedness from the world.
In ancient times, sundry persons designed a strict course of morti-
fication and penitence, and they always laid the foundation of it in a
renunciation of the world; but they fell most of them into a three-
fold mistake, wliich ridned the v/hole undertaking. For, —
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 447
(1.) They fell into a neglect of such natural and moral duties as
were indispensably required of them : they forsook all care of duties
belonging unto them in their relations as fathers, children, husbands,
wives, and the like, betaking themselves into solitudes; and hereby
also they lost all that political and Christian usefulness which the
principles of human society and of our religion do oblige us unto.
They took themselves unto a course of life rendering the most im-
portant Christian duties, such as respect other men of all sorts, in
all fruits of love, utterly impossible unto them. They could be no
more useful nor helpful in the places and circumstances wherein they
were set by divine Providence : which was a way wherein they could
not expect any blessing from God. No such thing is required unto
that renunciation of the world which we design; with nothing that
should render men useless unto all men do Christian duties inter-
fere. We are still to use the world whilst we are in it, but not abuse
it ; as we have opportunity, we must still do good unto all. Yea, none
will be so ready to the duties of life as those who are most mortified
to the world. Thoughts of retirement from usefulness, unless [under]
a great decay of outward strength, are but temptations.
(2.) They engaged themselves into a number of observances no-
where required of them : such were their outward austerities, fastings,
choice of meats, times of prayer; whereunto, at length, self-macera-
tion and disciplines were added. In a scrupulous, superstitious ob-
servance of these things their whole design at length issued, giving
rise and occasion unto innumerable evils. Faith directs to no such
thing ; it guides to no duty but according to the rule of the word.
(3.) At length they began to engage themselves by vow into such
peculiar orders and rules of a pretended religious life as Avere by some
of their leaders presented unto them ; and this ruined the whole.
However, the original design was good, — namely, such a renuncia-
tion of the world as miglit keep it and all the things of it from being
a hinderance unto us in an humble walk before God, or any thing
that belongs thereunto. We are to be crucified unto the world, and the
world unto us, by the cross of Christ ; we are to be so in a peculiar
manner, if we are under the conduct of faith, in a way of humiliation
and repentance. And the things ensuing are required hereunto : —
(1.) The mortification of our affections unto the desirable things
of this life : they are naturally keen and sharp-set upon them, and
do tenaciously adhere unto them ; especially they are so when things
have an inlet into them by nearness of relation, as husbands, wives,
children, and the like. Persons are apt to think they can never love
them enough, never do enough for them (and it is granted they are
to be preferred above all other earthly things) ; but where they fill
and possess the heart, where they weaken and obtund the affections
448 EVIDENCES OF THE
unto things spiritual, heavenly, and eternal, unless we are mortified
unto them, the heart will never be in a good frame, nor is capable
of that degree in the grace of repentance which we seek. It is so with
the most, as unto all other useful things in this world, — as wealth,
estates, and peace: whilst they are conversant about them, as they
suppose in a lawful manner, they think they can never overvalue
them, nor cleave too close unto them.
But here we must begin, if we intend to take any one step into
this holy retirement. The edge of our affections and desires must
be taken off from these things : and hereunto three things are
necessary : —
[L] A constant, clear view and judgment of their uncertainty,
emptiness, and disability to give any rest or satisfaction. Uncertain
riches, uncertain enjoyments, perishing things, passing away, yea,
snares, burdens, hinderances, the Scripture represents them to be; —
and so they are. If the mind were continually charged home with
this consideration of them, it would daily abate its delight and satis-
faction in them.
[2.] A constant endeavour for conformity unto Christ crucified.
It is the cross of Christ whereby we are crucified unto the world and
all things in it. When the mind is much taken up with thoughts of
Christ, as dying, how and for what he died, if it hath any spark of
saving faith in it, it will turn away the eyes from looking on the
desirable things of this world Avith any delightful, friendly aspect.
Things will appear unto it as dead and discoloured.
[3.] The fixing of them steadily on things spiritual and eternal ;
whereof I have discoursed at large elsewhere. The whole of this
advice is given us by the apostle. Col. iii. 1-5.
Herein faith begins its work, this is the first lesson it takes out of
the gospel, — namely, that of self-denial, whereof this mortification is
a principal part. Herein it labours to cast off every burden, and the
sin that doth so easily beset us. Unless some good degree be at-
tained here, all farther attempts in this great duty will be fruitless.
Do you, then, any of you, judge yourselves under any of those quali-
fications before mentioned, which render this duty and work of faith
necessary unto you? Sit down here at the threshold, and reckon
with yourselves that unless you can take your hearts more off from
the world, — unless your affections and desires be mortified and cruci-
fied, and dead in you, in a sensible degi'ee and measure, — unless yon
endeavour every day to promote the same frame in your minds, —
you will live and die strangers to this duty.
(2.) Tliis mortification of our aft'ections towards these things, our
love, desire, and delight, will produce a moderation of passions about
them, as fear, anger, sorrow, and the like; such will men be stirred
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 449
up unto in those changes, losses, crosses, which these things are sub-
ject unto. They are apt to be tender and soft in those things; tliey
take every thing to lieart; every affliction and disappointment is
aggravated, as if none ahnost liad had such things befall them as
themselves ; every thing puts them into a commotion. Hence are
they often surprised with anger about trifles, influenced by fear in all
changes, with other turbulent passions. Hence are men morose,
peevish, froward, apt to be displeased and take offence on all occa-
sions. The subduing of this frame, the casting out of these disposi-
tions and perverse inclinations, is part of the work of faith. When
the mind is weaned from the world and the things of it, it will be
sedate, quiet, composed, not easily moved with the occurrences and
occasions of life : it is dead unto them, and in a great measure un-
concerned in them. This is that "moderation " of mind wherein the
apostle would have us excel, Phil. iv. 5 ; for he would have it so emi-
nent as that it might appear unto " all men," — that is, who are con-
cerned in us, as relations, families, and other societies. This is that
which principally renders us useful and exemplary in this world; and
for the want whereof many professors fill themselves and others with
disquietments, and give offence unto the world itself This is re-
quired of all believers; but they will be eminent in it in whom faith
works this weanedness from the world, in order unto a peculiar exer-
cise of repentance.
(3.) There is required hereunto an unsolicitousness about present
affairs and future events. There is nothing given us in more strict
charge in the Scripture, than that we should be careful in nothing,
solicitous about nothing, take no thought for to-morrow, but to com-
mit all things unto the sovereign disposal of our God and Father,
who hath taken all these things into his own care. But so it is
come to pass, through the vanity of the minds of men, that what
should be nothing unto them is almost their all. Care about things
present, and solicitousness about things to come, in private and public
concerns, take up most of their thoughts and contrivances. But this
also will faith subdue on this occasion, where it tends unto the pro-
motion of repentance, by weanedness from the world. It will bring
the soul into a constant, steady, universal resignation of itself unto
the pleasure of God, and satisfaction in his will. Hereon it will use
the world as if it used it not, with an absolute unconcernment in it
as unto what shall fall out. This is that which our Saviour presseth
so at large, and with so many divine reasonings, Matt. vi. 25—34.
(4.) A constant preference of the duties of religion before and
above the duties and occasions of life. These things will continually
interfere if a diligent watch be not kept over them, and they will
contend for preference; and their success is according to the in-
voL. V. 29
450 EVIDENCES OF THE
terest and estimation which the things themselves have in om' minds.
If the interest of the world be there prevalent, the occasions of it
will be preferred before religious duties ; and they shall, for the most
part, be put off unto such seasons wherein we have nothing else
to do, and it may be fit for little else. But where the interest of
spiritual things prevails it will be otherwise, according to the rule
given us by our blessed Saviour, " Seek first the kingdom of God and
the righteousness thereof," etc.. Matt. vi. 33.
I confess this rule is not absolute as unto all seasons and occa-
sions: there may be a time wherein the observation of the Sabbath
must give place to the pulling an ox or an ass out of a pit; and on
all such occasions the rule is, that mercy is to be preferred before
sacrifice. But, in the ordinary course of our walking before God,
faith will take care that a due attendance unto all duties of religion
be preferred to all the occasions of this life ; they shall not be shuffled
off' on trifling pretences, nor cast into such unseasonable seasons as
otherwise they will be. There also belongs unto that weanedness
from this world, which is necessary unto an eminency in degrees of
humiliation and repentance, watching unto prayer.
(5.) Willingness and readiness to part with all for Christ and the
gospel. This is the animating principle of the great duty of taking
up the cross, and self-denial therein. Without some measure of it in
sincerity, we cannot be Christ's disciples; but in the present case
there is an eminent degree, which Christ calls the hating of all things
in comparison of him, that is required, — such a readiness as rejects
with contempt all arguing against it, — such as renders the world no
burden unto it in any part of our race, — such as establisheth a deter-
minate resolution in the mind, that as God calls, the world and all
the concernments of it should be forsaken for Christ and the gospel.
Our countenances and discourses in difficulties do not argue that
this resolution is prevalent in us; but so it is required in that work
of faith which we are in the consideration of
2. A SECOND thing that belongs hereunto is a peculiar remem-
brance of sin, and converse about it in our minds, with self-displi-
cency and abhorrency. God hath promised in his covenant that he
"will remember our sins no more," — that is, to punish them; but it
doth not thence follow that we should no more remember them, to
be humbled for them. Repentance respects sin always; wherever,
therefore, that is, there will be a continual calling sin to remem-
brance. Saith the psalmist, " My sin is ever before me."
There is a threefold calling our past sins unto remembrance: —
(1.) With delight and contentment. Thus is it with profligate
sinners, whose bodies are grown unserviceable unto their youthful
lusts. They call over their former sins, roll them over in their minds,
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT. 451
express their delight in them by their words^ and have no greater
trouble but that, for the want of strength or opportunity, they cannot
still live in the practice of them: this is to be old in wickedness, and
to have their bones filled with the sins of their youth. So do many
in this age delight in filthy communication, unclean society, and all
incentives of lust, — a fearful sign of being given over unto a repro-
bate mind, a heart that cannot repent.
(2.) There is a remembrance of sin unto disquietment, terror, and
despair. Where men's consciences are not seared with a hot iron, sin
will visit their minds ever and anon with a troublesome remembrance
of itself, with its aggravating circumstances. For the most part men
hide themselves from this visitor, — they are not at home, not at lei-
sure to converse with it, but shift it off, like insolvent debtors, from
day to day, with a few transient thoughts and words. But sometimes
it will not be so put off, — it will come with an arrest or a warrant from
the law of God, that shall make them stand and give an account of
themselves. Hereon they are filled with disquietments, and some
with horror and despair ; which they seek to pacify and divert them-
selves from by farther emerging [immersing?] themselves in the pur-
suit of their lusts. The case of Cain, Gen. iv. 13, 16, 17.
(3.) There is a calling former sins to remembrance as a further-
ance of repentance ; and so they are a threefold glass unto the soul,
wherein it hath a treble object: —
[1.] It sees in them the depravation of its nature, the evil quality
of that root which hath brought forth such fruit ; and they see in it
their own folly, how they were cheated by sin and Satan; they see
the unthankfulness and unkindness towards God wherewith they
were accompanied. This fills them with holy shame, Rom. vi. 21.
This is useful and necessary unto repentance. Perhaps if men did
more call over their former sins and miscarriages than they do, they
would walk more humbly and warily than they do for the most part.
So David in his age prays for a renewed sense of the pardon of the
sins of his youth, Ps. xxv. 7.
[2.] The soul sees in them a representation of the grace, patience,
and pardoning mercy of God. " Thus and thus was it with me : God
might justly have cast me off for ever; he might have cut me off in
the midst of these sins, so as that I should have had no leisure to have
cried for mercy; and perhaps some of them were sins long continued
in. 0 the infinite patience of God, that spared me ! the infinite grace
and mercy of God, that forgave unto me these provoking iniquities \"
This frame is expressed, Ps. ciii. 3, 4.
[3.] The soul sees herein the eflicacy of the mediation and blood
of Christ, 1 John ii. 2. " Whence is it that I have deliverance from
the guilt of these sins? that way was made for the advancing of grace
452 EVIDENCES OF THE
in the pardon of them? Whence is it that my soul and conscience
are purged from the stain and filth of them?" Here the whole glory
of the love and grace of Christ in his mediation, with the worth of
the atonement that he made, and the ransom that he paid, with the
efficacy of his blood to purge us from all our sins, is represented unto
the mind of the believer. So " out of the eater comes forth meat;"
and thereby a reconciliation is made between the deepest humiliation
and a refreshing sense of the love of God and peace with him.
This, therefore, a soul which is engaged into the paths of repent-
ance will constantly apply itself unto ; and it is faith alone whereunto
we are beholding for the views of these things in sin. In no other
light will they be seen therein. Their aspect in any other is horrid
and terrifying, suited only to fill the soul with dread and horror, and
thoughts of fleeing from God. But this view of them is suited to
stir up all graces unto a holy exercise.
3. Hereon godly sorrow will ensue : this, indeed, is the very life
and soul of repentance; so the apostle declares it, 2 Cor. vii. 9-11.
And it compriseth all that is spoken in the Scripture about a broken
heart and a contrite spirit, which expresseth itself by sighs, tears,
mourning, yea, watering our beds with tears, and the like. David
giveth so gi-eat an instance in himself hereof, and that so n-equently
repeated, as that we need no other exemplification of it. I shall not
at large insist upon it, but only show, — (1 .) What it doth respect ; and,
(2.) Wherein it doth consist, — how faith works it in the soul.
(1.) What it doth respect; and it hath a twofold object: —
[1.] Such past sins as, by reason of their own nature or their
aggravations, have left the greatest impression on the conscience. It
respects, indeed, in general, all past and known sins that can be called
to remembrance ; but usually, in the course of men's lives, there have
been some sins whose wounds, on various accounts, have been most
deep aud sensible: these are the especial objects of this godly sorrow.
So was it with David ; in the whole course of his life, after his great
fall, he still bewailed his miscarriage therein; the like respect he had
unto the other sins of his youth. And none have been so preserved
but they may fix on some such provocation as may be a just cause of
this sorrow all their days.
[2.] It respects the daily incursions of infirmities, in failings, negli-
gences in our frames or actions, — such as the best are subject to.
These are a matter of continual sorrow and mouruing to a gracious
soul that is engaged in this duty and way of repentance.
(2.) Wherein it doth consist; and the things following do concur
therein : —
[1.] Self-judging. This is the ground and spring of all godly sor-
row, and thereon of repentance, turning away the displeasure of God,
FAITH OF GOD S ELECT, 453
1 Cor. xi. 31. This the soul doth continually with reference unto
the sins mentioned; it passeth sentence on itself every day. This can-
not be done Avithout grief and sorrow ; for although the soul finds it
a necessary duty, and is thereon Avell pleased with it, yet all such
self-reflections are like afflictions, not joyous, but grievous.
[2.] The immediate eftect hereof is constant humiliation. He that
so judgeth himself knows what frame of mind and spirit becomes
him thereon. This takes away the ground from all pride, elation of
mind, self-pleasing: where this self-judging is constant they can have
no place. This is that frame of mind which God approves so highly,
and hath made such promises unto ; the humble are everywhere pro-
posed as the especial object of his own care ; his respect is to them
that are of a broken heart, and of a contrite spirit : and this will grow
on no other root. No man, by his utmost diligence, on any argu-
ment or consideration, shall be able to bring himself into that humble
frame wherein God is delighted, unless he lay the foundation of it
in continual self-judging on the account of former and present sins.
Men may put on a fashion, frame, and garb of humility; but really
humble they are not. Where this is wanting, pride is in the throne,
in the heart, though humility be in the countenance and deportment.
And herein doth this godly sorrow much consist.
[3.] There is in it a real trouble and disquietment of mind : for
sorrow is an afflictive passion ; it is contrary to that composure which
the mind would constantly be at. Howbeit, this trouble is not such
as is opposed unto spiritual peace and refreshment ; for it is an effect
of faith, and faith will produce nothing that is really inconsistent
with peace with God, or that shall impeach it : but it is opposite unto
other comforts. It is a trouble that all earthly things cannot take
off and remove. This trouble of his mind, in his sorrow for sin,
David on all occasions expresseth unto God; and sometimes it riseth
to a great and dreadful height, as it is expressed, Ps. Ixxxviii. through-
out. Hereby the soul is sometimes ovenvhelmed ; yet so as to relieve
itself by pouring out its complaint before the Lord, Ps. cii. 1.
[4.] This inward frame of trouble, mourning, and contriteness, will
express itself on all just occasions by the outward signs of sighs, tears,
and mournful complaints, Ps. xxxi. 10. So David continually men-
tions his tears on the like account; and Peter, on the review of his
sin, wept bitterly ; and Mary washed the feet of Christ with her tears,
— as we should all do. A soul filled with sorrow will run over and ex-
press its inward frame by these outward signs. I sjoeak not of those
self-whole, jolly professors which these days abound with ; but such as
faith engageth in this duty will on all occasions abound in these
things. I fear there is amongst us too great a pretence that men's
natural tempers and constitutions are incompliant with these things.
454 EVIDENCES OF THE
Where God makes the heart soft, and godly sorrow doth not only
sometimes visit it, but dwell in it, it will not be wholly wanting in
these expressions of it; and what it comes short of one way it may
make up in another. Whatever the case be as to tears, it is certain
that to multiply sighs and groans for sin is contrary to no man's con-
stitution, but only to sin ingrafted in his constitution.
[o.] This godly sorrow will constantly incite the mind unto all
duties, acts, and fruits of repentance whatever ; it is never barren nor
heartless, but being both a grace and a duty, it will stir up the soul
unto the exercise of all graces, and the performance of all duties that
are of the same kind. This the apostle declares fully, 2 Cor. vii. 11.
This, therefore, is another thing which belongs unto that state of
repentance which faith will bring the soul unto, and whereby it will
evidence itself on the occasions before mentioned; and indeed, if this
sorrow be constant and operative, there is no clearer evidence in us
of saving faith. They are blessed who thus mourn. I had almost
said, it is worth all other evidences, as that without which they are
none at all ; where this frame is not in some good measure, the soul
can have no pregnant evidence of its good estate.
4. Another thing that belongs to this state, is outward observances
becoming it; such as abstinence, unto the due mortification of the
flesh, — not in such things or ways as are hurtful unto nature, and
really obstructive of greater duties. There have been great mistakes
in this matter; most men have fallen into extremes about it, as is
usual with the most in like cases. They did retain in the Papacy,
from the beginning of the apostasy of the church from the rule of
the Scripture, an opinion of the necessity of mortification unto a
penitent state; but they mistook the nature of it, and placed it for
the most part in that which the apostle calls the " doctrine of devils,"
when he foretold believers of that hypocritical apostasy, 1 Tim. iv.
1-3. Forbidding to marry, engaging one sort of men by vows against
the use of that ordinance of God for all men, and enjoining abstinence
from meats in various laws and rules, under pretence of great auste-
rity, was the substance of their mortification. Hereunto they added
habits, fasting, disciplines, rough garments, and the like pretended
self-macerations innumerable. But the vanity of this hypocrisy hath
been long since detected. But therewithal most men are fallen into
the other extreme. Men do generally judge that they are at their
full liberty in and for the use of the things esteemed refreshments of
nature ; yea, they judge themselves not to be obliged unto any re-
trenchment in gamients, diet, with the free use of all things in
themselves lawful, when they are under the greatest necessity of
godly sorrow and express repentance. But there is here a no less
pernicious mistake than in the former excess; and it is that which
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 455
our Lord Jesus Christ gives us in charge to watch against, Luke xxi.
34-36.
This, therefore, I say, is required unto the state we inquire after :
Those things which restrain the satisfaction of the appetite, with an
aversation of the joyous enticements of the world, walking heavily
and mournfully, expressing an humble and afflicted frame of spirit,
are necessary in such a season. The mourners in Zion are not to he
ashamed of their lot and state, but to profess it in all suitable outward
demonstration of it; — not in fantastical habits and gestures, like sundry
orders of the monks; not in affected forms of speech, and uncouth
deportments, like some among ourselves ; but in such ways as naturally
express the inward frame of mind inquired after.
5. There is required hereunto a firm watch over solitudes and re-
tirements of the night and day, with a continual readiness to conflict
temptations in their first appearance, that the soul be not surprised
by them. The great design, in the exercise of this grace, is to keep
and preserve the soul constantly in an humble and contrite frame ;
if that be lost at any time, the whole design is for that season disap-
pointed. Wherefore, faith engageth the mind to watch against two
things: — (1.) The times wherein we may lose this frame; (2.) The
means whereby. And, —
(L) For the times. There are none to be so diligently watched
over as our solitudes and retirements by night or by day. What we
are in them, that we are indeed, and no more. They are either the
best or the worst of our times, wherein the jjrinciple that is predomi-
nant in us will show and act itself. Hence some are said " to devise
evil on their beds, and when the morning is light they practise it,"
Mic. ii. L Their solitude in the night serves them to think on,
contrive, and delight in, all that iniquity which they intend by day to
practise, according to their power. And on the other side, the work
of a gracious soul in such seasons is to be seeking after Christ, Cant,
iii. 1, — to be meditating of God, as the psalmist often expresseth it.
This, therefore, the humble soul is diligently watchful in, that at such
seasons vain imaginations, which are apt to obtrude themselves on the
mind, do not carry it away, and cause it to lose its frame, though but
for a season; yea, these are the times which it principally lays hold
on for its improvement : then doth it call over all those considerations
of sin and grace, which are meet to affect it and abase it.
(2.) For the means of the loss of an humble frame. They are temp-
tations; these labour to possess the mind either ])y sudden surprisals
or continued solicitations. A soul engaged by faith in this duty is
aware always of their deceit and violence ; it knows that if they enter
into it, and do entangle it, though but for a season, they will quite
cast out or deface that humble, contrite, broken frame, which it is its
456 EVIDENCES OF THE
duty to preserve. And there is none who hath the least grain of
spiritual wisdom, but may understand of what sort these temptations
are which he is obnoxious unto. Here, then, faith sets the soul on its
watch and guard continually, and makes it ready to combat every
temptation on its first appearance, for then it is weakest and most
easily to be subdued; it will suffer them to get neither time, nor
ground, nor strength : so it presei-ves an humble frame, — dehvers it
frequently from the jaws of this devourer.
6. Although the soul finds satisfaction in this condition, though it
be never sinfully weary of it, nor impatient under it, yea, though it
labour to grow and thrive in the spirit and power of it, yet it is con-
stantly accompanied with deep sighs and groanings for its deliverance.
And these groanings respect both what it would be delivered from
and what it would attain unto; between which there is an interposi-
tion of some sighs and groans of nature, for a continuance in its
present state.
(1.) That which this groaning respects deliverance from is the re-
maining power of sin ; this is that which gives the soul its distress
and disquietment. Occasionally, indeed, its humility, mourning, and
self-abasement are increased by it ; but this is through the efficacy of
the grace of Christ Jesus, — in its own nature it tends to hurt and
ruin. This the apostle emphatically expresseth in his own person,
as bearing the place and state of other believers, Rom. vii. 24.
And this constant gi'oaning for deliverance from the power of sin
excites the soul to pursue it unto its destruction. No effect of faith,
such as this is, Ls heartless or fruitless; it will be operative towards
what it aims at, — and that in this case is the not-being of sin : this the
soul gi'oans after, and therefore contends for. This is the work of faith,
and "faith without works is dead:'' wherefore it will continually
pursue sin unto all its retirements and reserves. As it can have no
rest from it, so it will give neither rest nor peace unto it ; yea, a con-
stant design after the not-being of sin, is a blessed evidence of a
saving faith.
(2.) That which it looks after is the full enjoyment of glory, Rom.
viii. 23. This, indeed, is the grace and duty of all believers, of all
who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit ; they all in their mea-
sure groan that their very bodies may be delivered from being the
subject and seat of sin, — that they may be redeemed out of that bon-
dage. It is a bondage to the very body of a believer, to be instru-
mental unto sin. This we long for its perfect deliverance from, which
shall complete the grace of adoption in the whole person. But it is
most eminent in those who excel in a state of humiliation and repent-
ance. They, if any, groan earnestly, — this they sigh, breathe, and
pant after continually; and their views of the glory that shall be re-
FAITH OF god's ELECT. 457
vealed give them refresliment in their deepest sorrows ; they wait for
the Lord herein more than they that wait for the morning. Do not
blame a truly penitent soul if he longs to be dissolved; the greatness
and excellency of the change which he shall have thereby is his pre-
sent life and relief.
(3.) But there is a weight on this desire, by the interposition of
nature for the continuation of its present being, which is inseparable
from it. But faith makes a reconciliation of these repugnant inclina-
tions, keeping the soul from weariness and impatience. And this it
doth by reducing the mind unto its proper rock : it lets it know that
it ought not absolutely to be under the conduct of either of these
desires. First, it keeps them from excess, by teaching the soul to
regulate them both by the word of God : this it makes the rule of
such desires and inclinations ; which whilst they are regulated by, we
shall not offend in them. And it mixeth a grace with them both that
makes them useful, — namely, constant submission to the will of God.
" This grace would have, and this nature would have ; but," saith the
soul, " the will and sovereign pleasure of God is my rule : ' Not my
will, holy Father, but thy will be done.'" We have the example of
Christ himself in this matter.
7. The last thing I shall mention, as that which completes the
state described, is abounding in contemplations of things heavenly,
invisible, and eternal. None have more holy and humble thoughts
than truly penitent souls, none more high and heavenly contempla-
tions. You would take them to be all sighs, all mourning, all de-
jection of spirit ; but none are more above, — none more near the high
and lofty One. As he dwells with them, Isa. Ivii. 15, so they dwell
with him in a peculiar manner, by these heavenly contemplations.
Those who have lowest thoughts of themselves, and are most filled
Avith self-abasement, have the clearest views of divine glory. The
bottom of a pit or well gives the best prospect of the heavenly lumi-
naries; and the soul in its deepest humiliations hath for the most
part the clearest views of things within the vail.
END OF VOL. V.
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