A TREATISE OF IVSTIFICATION BY GEORGE DOVVNAME DOCTOR OF DIVINITY and Bishop of Dery IEREMIAH 23. 5 6. I will raise unto David a righteous branch and this is his name wherby he shall be called Iehovah our righteousnesse 2 CORINTH 5. 21. Him that knew no sinne God made sinne for us that we might become the righteousnesse of God in him LONDON Printed by Felix Kyngston for Nicolas Bourne and are to be sold at his shop at the South Entrance of the Royall Exchange 1633. REVERENDISSIMO IN CHRISTO PATRI AC DOMINO D. GEORGIO ABBATO ARCHIEPISCOPO Cantuariensi dignissimo totius Angliae Primati ac Metropolitae amplissimo GEORGIVS DOVNAMVS EPISCOPVS DERENSIS HOC QVICQVID EST VOLVMINIS DE JVSTIFICATIONE Peccatoris ceu grati Animi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 summaeque observantiae amoris 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicat consecratque A Preface concerning the Apostasie of the now Church of Rome THis ensuing Treatise as it cleareth the Doctrine of the Gospell in that high point concerning our title to the Kingdome of Heaven so it helpeth to discover the Apostasie of the now Church of Rome from the faith For though the Papists doe vaunt that their Church meaning especially the See of Rome is so farre from falling away from the faith that it cannot fall into errours in matters of faith yet they cannot deny but that in the latter times and namely in the time of Antichrist there should be a great defection from the faith and as it were a Catholike Apostasie whereof Antichrist was to bee the head Of this Apostasie the holy Ghost hath prophesied in divers places of the Scriptures as 1 Tim. 4. 1. 2 Thess. 2. 3. Mat. 24. 24. Apoc. 13. 12 14 15 16. And hath also set downe the notes and markes whereby they may bee knowne who make this Apostasie from the faith As 1. to forbid marriage 2 To command abstinence from meates both of them for religion and conscience sake 3 Idolatry for that is by spirituall fornication to fall from God Psal. 73. 27. Hos. 1. 2. 9. 1. which by the Septuagint is thus expressed Hos. 4. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4. Ostentation of miracles the proper badge of the Antichristian Apostasie in these latter times 2 Thess. 2. 9. Mar. 24. 24. Apoc. 13. 14. All which notes I have proved in my Latine Treatise of Antichrist properly to agree to the now Church of Rome the forbidding of marriage and commanding abstinence from meates part 1. lib. 3. cap. 2. 3. Idolatry ibid. cap. 3. § 5. Miracles lib. 6. cap. 1. § 5. whereby it is evident that the new Church of Rome hath made this Apostasie Now let us consider in what respects the Church of Rome is revolted from the faith By faith in this question we understand not the habit or grace of faith but the Doctrine of faith Non id quo creditur not that by which we beleeve sed illud quod creditur buâ—… that which we doe beleeve In which sense the word faith is often used both in the Scriptures and also in the monuments of Ecclesiasticall writers Now the Doctrine of faith is either generall or speciall The generall are the whole canonicall Scriptures or the written Word of God in generall which is objectum fidei adaequatum the even object the rule and foundation of faith so that whatsoever doctrine is contained in the Scriptures either expressely or by necessary consequence is to bee received as a doctrine of faith and whatsoever is not so contained in the Scriptures is not dogma fidei From the holy Scriptures which God hath propounded to be the only rule of faith they are revolted unto the doctrines devices of men by changing the rule of faith which they have done divers wayes For first whereas the rule the foundation and chiefe principle of faith whereinto it is last resolved is the authority of God speaking in the holy Scriptures they have set up another rule which is the authority of the Romane Church and therein of the Pope which they make the superiour rule from which the authority of the Scriptures themselves dependeth and into which their faith is last resolved For the Pope is as they say virtually the Church and what they say in this kinde to magnifie the authority of the Church is specially to bee under stood of the Pope who onely for sooth hath an infallible judgement and not subject to errour for if you will beleeve them a generall or oecumenicall Councell without the Pope may erre but the Pope alone without a Councell cannot erre yea the authority of the Pope and Councell together is no greater than the authority of the Pope alone from whom all Councels have their authority for ab arbiâ—… pontificis tota conciliorum authoritas pendet quae tantam habent quantam Papa indulget and thus Bellarmine denieth this assertion aliquid majus est concilium cum pontifice quam pontifex solus If therefore the authoritie of the Church be greater than that of the Scriptures as they teach and if the authority of the Pope be absolutely above the Church universall as they also teach then much more is the authoritie of the Pope above the Scriptures Now whosoever taketh upon him authority above the Scriptures which are the undoubted Word of God hee is undoubtedly Antichrist whose judgement to make as the Papists plainely doe the chiefe principle of faith into which their faith is last resolved is no better thâ—…n to revoli from Christ to Antichrist Secondly they change the rule of faith by making their traditions that is such doctrines and observations as are taught and observed in the Church of Rome having no ground nor warrant in the holy Scriptures to bee the Word of God the word unwritten and a rule of faith which also they doe not onâ—…ly match with the holy Scriptures but even in many respects preferre before them and acknowledge them to bee the more entire and perfect rule of faith Thirdly they have changed the rule of faith by making those bookes canonicall which all antiquity almost yea and all succeeding ages untill the Councell of Trent following therein the judgement of Hierome did hold Apochryphall or at the most but Eeclesiasticall which might bee read in the Church for morall instruction but not as rules of faith Fourthly they change the rule of faith when in stead of the originall Text of the old and new Testaments which were penned by the Prophets and Apostles themselves they make a corrupt and that sometimes a barbarous translation of I know not whom to be the authentike text and the rule of faith preferring the vulgar Latine translation before the originall text which the penmen of the holy Ghost did write Fifthly they change the rule of faith when in stead oâ—… the true sense and mâ—…aning of the holy Scriptures expounded by the Scriptures according to the analogâ—…e of faith they obtrude the
justifications of the Saints then they justifie the Saints So may I say if the precepts of the Law be the justifications of the Lord then belike they justifie him but neither are fitly called justifications though the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may not unfitly be given both to the Law of God as the rule of justice and to the judgements of God as the acts of justice and to the good deeds of the Saints as workes of justice and also to the merits of Christ which notwithstanding doe not justifie him but us unlesse they meane that as by good workes the faithfull so by righteous commandements and just judgements God is declared and manifested to bee just And farther the law of Nature knowne to the Gentiles is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which notwithstanding doth not justifie either him or them and is by the Latine interpreter unfitly translated the justice of God And moreover Bellarmine himselfe as we have heard noteth that the Law is called justification because it teacheth righteousnesse and yet not that righteousnesse by which we are justified for that without the Law is manifested in the Gospell being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the righteousnesse of God which is by faith of Iesus Christ unto all and upon all that beleeve But to conclude Bellarmine had no reason to make this the first signification of the word in the Scriptures for the Hebrew word which the vulgar Latine translateth sometimes iustificationes and sometimes ceremonias in the same sense doth signifie no such matter and the Greeke which twice at the most in the Scriptures signifieth justification doth usually signifie the Law of God and his statutes and ordinances but more especially those of the ceremoniall Law which if they be any where called justifications it is to bee imputed to the corrupt translation and not to the originall truth § III. So much of the first signification The two next whereof there is no example in the Scriptures hee hath coined to fit their new-found distinction of justification it selfe which they distinguish into the first and the second The first when a man of a sinner is made just by infusion of habituall righteousnesse The second when a just man is made more just by practise of good workes Accordingly justification saith Bellarmine in the second place signifieth acquisition of righteousnesse viz. inherent which is their first justification and in the third place incrementum justitiae the encrease of justice which is their second justification which distinction if it were applied to sanctification were not to be rejected For that which they call their first justification is the first act of our sanctification which the Scriptures call â—…eration in which the holy Ghost doth ingenerate in the soule of the Elect the grace of faith and with it and by it other sanctifying graces wherein their justification which is habituall consisteth And that which they call their second justification being actuall is our new obedience by which our sanctification is continued and encreased But to justification it cannot truly be applyed for first justification is an action of God for it is God that doth justifie Their second justification is their owne act whereby they being just already make themselves more just Secondly justification as hath been said is an action of God without us not implying a reall mutation in us but relative such as is wrought by the sentence of a Iudge and is opposed to condemnation Thirdly because it is the righteousnesse of Christ by which wee are justified which is a perfect righteousnesse whereunto nothing can bee added Therefore of justification it selfe there are no degrees though of the assurance thereof there are degrees according to the measure of our faith § IV. But let us see how Bellarmine proveth his second signification To that purpose he alledgeth three testimonies of Scripture which prove nothing else but that the Papists have no sound proofe for their erronious conceit The first is taken out of 1 Cor. 6. 11. And such were you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified Where indeed the word is used but in a sense distinguished from sanctification The scope and intendment the Apostle is to exhort the Corinthians being now Christians to abstaine from those sinnes whereunto they were addicted whiles they lived in Gentilisme Such you were then saith the Apostle but now since you gave your names to Christ you were baptized into his Name and in your Baptisme were washed from those sinnes being sanctified from the corruption of them by the Spirit of God and iustified from the guilt of them in the Name of Iesus Christ that is by faith in his Name Thus therefore these three words are to bee distinguished The washing of the soule which is represented by the washing of the body is the generall word whereby the purging of the soule from sinne is generally signified Act. 22. 16. But as in sinne there are two things from which we had need to be purged that is the guilt of sinne and the corruption thereof so this ablution or washing of the soule hath two parts ablution from the guilt of sinne which is our justification ablution from the corruption of sinne which is our sanctification Both which are represented and sealed in the Sacrament of Baptisme wherein as the outward washing of the body doth represent the inward washing of the soule both from the guilt and corruption of sinne so the Element of water whereby the body is washed or sprinckled is a signe of the water and blood which issued out of Christs side whereby the soule is washed that is to say the blood of redemption and the water of sanctification for by the blood that is the merits of Christ wee are freed from the guilt of sinne and by the water that is the Spirit of sanctification wee are freed in some measure from the corruption And both these as I said are signified in Baptisme For wee are baptized into the remission of sinnes Act. 2. 38. Mar. 1. 4. Our soules being washed with the blood of Christ according to that in the Nicene Creed I beleeve one Baptisme for the remission of sinnes and wee are baptized unto the mortification of sinne and rising unto holinesse of life Rom. 6. 3 4. our soules being washed by the water of the holy Ghost For wee are baptized into the death of Christ and similitude of his resurrection that as Christ dyed and rose againe so wee that are baptized should dye unto sinne and rise to newnesse of life for which cause Baptisme also is called the Laver of regeneration Tit. 3. 5. This then is the summe and effect of the Apostles exhortation that seeing they having given their names unto Christ had been baptized into his Name and were therefore Sacramentally at the least washed and consequently both in their owne profession and opinion of others judging
have said before Christ justifieth not onely as hee is our Iudge but also as our Surety paying our debt and as our Advocate pleading for us The holy Ghost justifieth both as he is the Spirit of regeneration working in us the grace of faith and as the Spirit of adoption by applying unto us the merits of Christ assuring us of our justification and adoption The Ministers of the Gospell justifie as they are also said to forgive sinnes to beget men unto God and to save them ministerially as the Embassadours of Christ whose office it is to reconcile men unto God to preach and to pronounce remission of sinnes to them that beleeve and also instrumentally as the instruments of the holy Ghost to worke in them the grace of faith by which they are justified for faith commeth by hearing Rom. 10. 14 17. and Preachers are said to bee Ministers by whom you beleeve 1 Cor. 3. 5. Sacraments doe justifie as seales of that righteousnesse which is by faith Rom. 4. 11. And as the Ministery of the Word and Sacraments doe justifie ut manus dantis as the hand of God giving and applying Christ and his righteousnesse to the faithfull receiver so faith is manus accipieâ—…tis the hand of the beleever receiving Christ and his righteousnesse unto justification § VII But the second place is in his conceit more cleare viz. Esai 53. 11. where the Lord speaking by his Prophet concerning Christ saith My righteous servant shall by his knowledge justifie many and he shâ—…ll beare their sinnes where the verbe is in Hiphil Iatsdiq which signifieth shall make just Chemnitius indeed saith he goeth about to wrest this place also to the judiciall signification But in vaine for there are foure words which are manifestly repugnant to his interpretation But before wee speake of those foure words let us heare what Chemnitius saith Whereas Andradius saith he wresteth that sentence of Esay to prove that to justifie is to endue the minde with the quality of inherent justice it is great impudencie for there is presently added an exposition how that justification is to be understood because he shall saith Esay beare their iniquities where Chemnitius doth not so much as mention the judiciall signification of the word justifying after the manner of a Iudge but rather signifieth that Christ at his first comming did not justifie the Elect after the manner of a Iudge but as a surety in taking upon himselfe our debt and bearing our iniquities and as a Redeemer paying our ransome and so di charging us from our debt and from our bondage Neither doth it follow that it is not a judiciall word because in that place it signifieth not to justifie as a Iudge for besides the Iudge there are other parties also who doe justifie in a judiciall sense as namely sureties and advocates § VIII Now let us examine those foure words all which serve to prove that Christ in that place is not said to justifie after the manner of a Iudge which no man affirmeth and therefore Bellarmine fighteth with his owne shadow For we doubt not but that Christ may be said to justifie divers wayes first by his doctrine as our Prophet and Teacher in which sense Teachers are said to justifie Dan. 12. 3. secondly as our Priest both by his satisfaction and sacrifice propitiatory as Esai 53. 11. for so he saith and he shall beare their iniquities so Heb. 9. 26 28. and also by his intercession as our Advocate 1 Ioh. 2. 2. Rom. 8. 34. Heb. 9. 24. thirdly by his sentence as our king and judge at the last day Matth. 25. 34. The first word is by his knowledge that is as he expoundeth it out of Hierome by his doctrine Answ. Wee deny not but that Christ by his doctrine did justifie many working in them the grace of faith for even other Teachers who are but his Ministers doe also justifie others as Daniel speaketh not by infusion of righteousnesse but as the instruments of the holy Ghost to beget faith in the hearers or being as Saint Paul speaketh Ministers by whom they doe beleeve and beleeving are justified in the judiciall sense But Esay speaketh not of his doctrine but of his knowledge and that passively understood not for that knowledge whereby he knoweth all things but whereby hee is acknowledged to bee the Messias that is to say faith and so Pagnine Vatablus and Tremellius read scientia sui or agnitione sui that is by faith in him for so is faith often termed as 2 Pet. 1. 2 3. and 1 Tim. 2. 4. c. by which as it is said in this place of Esay hee doth justifie La rabbim that is as Paul speaketh Rom. 5. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the multitude of the Elect who beleeve in him how by bearing their iniquitiâ—…s that is the punishment due for their sinnes his sufferings being imputed to them if therefore justifying by faith doe prove justification by works or by inherent righteousnesse then this word proveth it § IX The second word is ipse justus by which word saith he is signified that Christ doth justifie not onely by teaching but also by just working and by imparting his righteousnesse unto us Answ. Christ his obedience or just working is proper to his person and inherent in him and therefore that righteousnesse which he performed in his owne person being both active and therefore transient and proper to his person and therefore without us cannot be imparted to us otherwise than by imputation To what purpose then doth he urge this word seeing Christ is just in justifying us as well by imputation as by infusion Forsooth to shew that Christ by his obedience and sufferings doth not justifie after the manner of a Iudge which no man affirmeth But what is his reason because it is not required to justifying after a judiciall manner that he who justifieth others should himselfe be just as if he should say it is not required that a Iudge should bee just contrary to that Gen. 18. 25. But God doth justifie us after the judiciall manner as a Iudge through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus and by forgivenesse of sinnes and that to this end to shew forth his justice that hee might bee just and the justifier of him who beleeveth in Iesus Rom. 3. 25 26. But this might better have beene objected against his owne exposition of the former word seeing he who is not just himselfe may by his doctrine justifie others Notwithstanding that which Bellarmine here áffirmeth concerning Christ is most true that it was necessary that he who should justifie others by his obedience should bee just himselfe howbeit he impertinently alleageth Rom. 3. 26. which speaketh of God justifying us not as a Mediator by his obedience but as a Iudge by his sentence But the true reason why the Prophet useth this word is in respect of the words following to signifie that Iesus Christ the righteous was made
fifth Capitall errour of the Papists in the Article of justification is concerning justifying faith which hath many branches 1. Concerning the nature of it viz. what it is and therein also they erre diversly 2. Concerning the subject of it both â—… and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the parties whose it is and the parts of the man wherein it is 3. Concerning the object of Faith 4. Concerning the act or effect of it which is to justifie where are three questions the first concerning the act it selfe whether it doth indeed justifie or onely dispose to justification the other two concerning the manner how it justifieth the former whether instrumentally as the hand to receive Christ who is our righteousnesse or formally as part of inherent righteousnesse The other whether faith doth justifie alone § II. As touching the first what faith is they hold justifying faith to be but a bare assent to all or any truth revealed by God which as it is in their opinion without speciall apprehension of Christ so it may be void of knowledge and severed from charity as they teach That faith in generall is an assent and that it may be defined to bee a firme and willing assent to every truth revealed by God grounded on the authority of God revealing it we willingly agree For hereby faith is distinguished from all other acts or habits of our minde And first from doubting in that it is an assent for in doubting the assent is withheld which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as contrariwise to assent is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And that faith is assent it is evident because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faith is a perswasion derived from the Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to bee perswaded or to beleeve and a man is said to assent unto or to beleeve that of the truth whereof he is perswaded hence it is that the act of faith which is to beleeve is expressed sometimes by the Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 17. 4. 27. 11. Heb. 11. 13. but most plainely Act. 28. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some beleeved the things which are spoken but some beleeved not Secondly from opinion in that faith is a firme assent or as Basil speaketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an undoubted assent for he that beleeveth the truth of God hath as it were put his seale unto it But opinion is the judgement of things contingent which may happen to bee false Sed fidei falsum subesse non potest but the subject of faith cannot be false Thirdly in that it is a willing assent from the forced beliefe of Devils and some desperate wicked men who beleeve that which they abhorre or as Saint Iames speaketh beleeve and tremble Iam. 2. 19. Mat. 8. 29. Fourthly from all other knowledge in that it is an assent to truth revealed or related by God and grounded upon the authority of God speaking in his Word for faith commeth by the hearing of the word So saith Saint Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith therefore is an undoubted assent of things heard in the assured perswasion of things preached by the grace of God And that is it which Bellarmine citeth out of Augustine quòd intelligimus aliquid rationi debemus quòd autem credimus authoritati that we understand any thing we owe to reason but that wee beleeve to authority All other firme assent is given to things either in themselves evident to sense or reason or to such as are manifested by discourse But the object of faith is not discerned by sence nor sounded by reason such as is the mystery of the holy Trinity and of the incarnation of Christ c. neither is faith of things seene Eye hath not seene nor Eare heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him And wheras the certainty of all other knowledge is grounded upon sence or experience and reason the certainty of this knowledge is grounded upon the authority of God speaking in his word For which cause the certainty of faith is greater than of any other knowledge For howsoever sense and reason may be deceived yet the ground of faith is unfallible which is the authority of God who is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that cannot lye a God of truth yea truth it selfe whereupon Clemens Alexandrinus saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore it selfe is a firme demonstration because truth accompanieth Faith those things which are delivered God and Basill what is the property of faith an undoubted plerophorie or full perswasion of the truth of the words inspired of God which is not shaken with any reasoning either induced from naturall necessity or formed to piety And such is the certainety of faith that the Apostle defineth it that it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the subsistence which giveth a being to things which now have not a being which is nothing but an assured beleefe as the word is used 2 Cor. 9. 4. 11. 17. Heb. 3. 14. and the evidence of things not appearing or not seene which the Greeke Sholiast in mine opinion very well explaneth Faith it selfe is the subsistence or substance of things hoped for For because those things which are in hope are without subsistence as yet not extant faith becommeth the substance and subsistence of them making them after a sort to exist and to be present because it doth beleeve they are Faith also is the evidence and demonstration of things not seene And faith sheweth things to be visible which are not seene How in the minde and in hope beholding things which doe not appeare § III. But howsoever faith is an assent and is in generall so to be defined as I have said yet justifying faith is not a bare assent either destitute of knowledge or severed from charity or without speciall apprehension and application for these are three errors of the Papists now in order to be confuted As touching the first The Papists doe not onely hold that justifying faith may be without knowledge but that also it may better bee defined by ignorance than by knowledge This faith which is without knowledge they call implicite faith because they beleeving some one common principle as namely I beleeve the bâ—…ly Catholicke Church doe thereby beleeve implicitè whatsoever is to be beleeved that is whatsoever the Catholicke Church beleeveth and propoundeth to bee beleeved And therefore this they call also an entire faith because thereby a man doth not onely beleeve the written word but also unwritten verities which are the traditions of the Church of Rome and both of them not for themselves but for the authority of the Church propounding them to bee beleeved Now they teach that not only for Lay men it is sufficient to beleeve as the Church beleeveth which was
who dissenteth from the truth even from that which the Church doth hold § V Secondly they are absurd in saying that faith may better be defined by ignorance than by knowledge For notitia knowledge is the genus both of faith and of science whereas ignorance is a privation of knowledge It were therefore very strange if faith which is an habit of the mind should be defined by a privation and namely of that habit which is the genus of it Yea but saith Bellarmine faith is opposed to science and therefore better to be defined by ignorance than by knowledge I answere it is opposed to science not as a privation that it should bee defined by ignorance but as a species of the same kind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contra divided for notitia as the genus is divided into science and faith the former being a knowledge of things either manifest in themselves which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or made manifest by discourse of reason which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the latter being a knowledge of things neither manifest to sence nor reason but knowne onely by relation from God where by the way you are to observe that the knowledge required in faith is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the cause such as is in science but onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to beleeve the relation to be true and that whatsoever God revealeth is infallibly true And therfore by faith our judgements are captivated to yeeld assent to divine revelations though either they may be above reason or may seeme to be against sence or reason For though sence and reason may bee deceived yet the ground of our faith which is the authority of God cannot be deceived nec fidei falsum subesse potest neither can the subject of faith be false As for example the mysteries of the Trinity and of the incarnation of our Saviour bee above our reason the articles of the creation of all things from nothing and of the resurrection of the body seeme contrary to reason the article of eternall life contayneth such things as never eye did see nor eare heare neither did they ever enter into the heart of man and so of other articles of Christian religion which notwithstanding we doe firmely beleeve and undoubtedly know to be true as God hath revealed the same grounding this our faith and knowledge on the authority of God speaking in his Word This distinction of knowledge being acknowledged that the knowledge of faith is neither the certaine intelligence of things in themselves manifest to sense or reason nor that science which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the causes or attained by discourse of reason but onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the things revealed by God are infallibly true by reason of his authority who is Truth it selfe might serve as a sufficient answer to so many of Bellarmines arguments and allegations as seeme worth the answering But I will briefly examine his proofes which are allegation of Scriptures reason and testimonies of Fathers § VI. As for his allegation of Scripture the first place alleadged out of Esa. 7. 9. is not as Bellarmine alleageth it unlesse you beleeve you shall not understand but if you beleeve not you shall not be established or as the vulgar Latine which Bellarmine ought to stand to non permâ—…nebitis as contrariwise 2 Chron. 20. 20. if you beleeve in the Lord you shall be established or as the Latine securieritis Neither doth it follow that faith is not knowledge because without faith we cannot come to the certaine intelligence of that which we beleeve For as knowledge of the thing revealed goeth before faith so faith goeth before the exact understanding and comprehension In the two next places 1 Cor. 13. 2. 12. 9. where faith as he saith is distinguished as a severall gift from knowledge by faith is not meant justifying faith but the faith of miracles as I have else where shewed Neither doe wee deny but that knowledge may be a distinct gift from faith As that knowledge which is either principiorum or conclusionum which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Neither is knowledge alwayes joyned with acknowledgement which is faith though acknowledgement implyeth knowledge alwayes Knowledge therefore may be without faith but faith cannot be without knowledge To the fourth out of 2 Cor. 10. 5. that where knowledge is there needs no captivating of the understanding I answere that faith being onely notitia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and giving firme assent to that whereof it knoweth no reason yea though perhaps it seeme above or against reason subjecteth or captivateth the understanding to the authority of God The last is from those places wherein the obedience of faith is mentioned For saith he obedience in beleeving were not needfull if by faith knowledge were given to men I answere that in those places faith doth signifie the doctrine of faith that is the Gospell the truth which men are then said to obey Rom. 10. 16. Gal. 3. 1. Act. 6. 7. when they beleeve and professe it As contrariwise those who doe not beleeve are said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to disobey and that in opposition to beleefe Ioh. 3. 36. Act. 14. 2. 17. 5. 19. 9. Rom. 11. 30 31 32. 15. 31. Heb. 3. 18 19. 1 Pet. 2. 7. Neither should it seeme strange to Bellarmine that by faith men attaine to knowledge I meane to greater knowledge when he urging even now that place Esai 7. 9. said faith is a degree and way to knowledge § VII To the Testimony of Irenaeus if it were entirely cited I would subscribe For speaking of those words 1 Cor. 8. Scientia inflat dilectio autem adificat and having thereupon inferred that it were better to know but a little and to love God than in a conceit of great knowledge to bee found blasphemous against God hee repeateth the same againe Melius itáque est sicuti predixi nihil omnio scientem quempiaâ—… ne quidem unam causam cujusllbet eorum quae facta sunt cur factum credere Deo persever are in ejus dilectione quae honorem vivificat nec aliud inquirere adscientiam nisi Iâ—…SVM Christum filium Dei qui pro nobis crucifixâ—…s est quà m per quaestionum subtilitates multiloquium in impietatem cadere Where first observe that the knowledge whereof he speaketh is that whereby the causes or reasons of things are knowne And wee doe confesse that a man may and ought simply to beleeve God without such knowledge and secondly that he speaketh by way of comparison that it is better for a man to content himselfe with the knowledge of Christ alone joyned with love which is not to be accounted implicite faith for the Apostle himselfe determined to know nothing among the Corinthians but Christ and him crucified than affecting the knowledge of subtile and curious questions to fall into
than of the Pope alone It is the Pope therefore alone that cannot erre who hath an heavenly and infallible judgement who is the supreame Iudge in all controversies the chiefe and onely authenticall interpreter of the Scriptures so that no point of religion is to be held for truth but what he determineth no text of Scripture to be held the word of God in any other sense than hee holdeth yea that a text of Scripture urged against them in another sense than he holdeth is not the word of God but rather of the devill By which meanes the Pope is stept into the roome of Christ and and is undoubtedly become Antichrist So that the implicite faith of the Papists whereby they professe themselves to beleeve what is propounded by the Church meaning especially the See of Rome that is to say the Pope to be beleeved and consequently whereby they professe themselves to beleeve in the Pope as the principall rule principle and foundation of their faith is the very character and marke of the Beast whereby men are branded to destruction § XVIII The which doth also prove the other point viz. how pernicious the doctrine of implicite faith is as tending to the perdition of the seduced people which I will also prove by other reasons For under the name of implicite faith they commend unto the Laity damnable ignorance that having blindfolded them they may lead them as it were by the nose whither it pleaseth them To them it is sufficient to beleeve what the Church beleeveth though they know little or nothing of the Churches beleefe If one of them be called before the Commissioners hee shall say enough and defend himselfe sufficiently when he answereth that he is a Catholike and that he will live and dye in that faith which the Catholike Church doth teach and that this Church can give them a reason of all those things which they demand And thus according to Christs promise Luk. 12. 12. the holy Ghost for sooth teacheth every unlearned Catholike to give sufficient reason of his faith But it is evident that those who live in ignorance doe live in a state of damnation or as the Scripture speaketh doe sit in darkenesse and in the shadow of death First because they live without God as it were Atheists in this world For they that know not God have not God Secondly because they are void of all grace whereby they might hope to be saved For knowledge being the first of all graces where that is wanting all the rest are absent Againe without faith there is no saving grace for faith is the mother and roote of all other graces and without knowledge there is no faith as I have already shewed For how can t they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard and by hearing knowne Knowledge is as it were the first step towards faith and all other graces and therefore he that hath not that in some measure hath not made one steppe in the way that leadeth to eternall life Thirdly because they are not Christs sheepe nor Gods children For I saith our Saviour know mine and I am knowne of mine Ioh. 10. 14. They shall know me every one of them saith the Lord from the greatest to the least of them Ier. 31. 34. All Gods children shall be taught of God Esai 54. 13. Ioh. 6. 45. every one therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth to mee saith our Saviour and none else All Gods children have the unction from the holy One and they know all needfull things 1 Ioh. 2. 20. 27. Ioh. 16. 13. Fourthly because it hath all the respects of evill in it For it is not one ly a sinne but the cause of all sinne and errour a punishment and the cause of punishment both in this life and in the world to come A sinne repâ—…oved and condemned Ier. 4. 22. 9. 3. Hos. 4. 1. â—… Cor. 15. 34. For it a sacrifice was ordained Levit. 4. 2. yea all the sinnes for which sacrifices were offered were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… that is ignorances Heb. 9. 7. The cause of sinne Errant qui operantur mulum They erre that sinne and none erre but by ignorance as Augustine saith Non erratur nisi per ignorantiam whence sinners are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are ignorant and doe erre Heb. 5. 3. Ignorance is the mother of all errours Regnum ignorantiae saith Augustine regnum erroris Ignorance also is a fearefull punishmentâ—… when God doth punish men with blindenesse of heart Esai 6. 9 10. and sendeth upon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the efficacy of errour 2 Thâ—…s 2. 11. It is also the cause of punishment for the people that understandeth not shall bee punished Hos. 4. 14. as of captivityâ—… Esai 5. 13. of destruction Hos. 4. 6. it maketh men subject to the curse of God Psal. 79. 6. Ier. 10. 25. and to eternall damnation 2. Thes. 1. 8. If our Gospell bee hid saith the Apostle it is hid to them that perish 2 Cor. 4. 3. For if it bee eternall life to know God and Christ our Saviour then not to know God and our Saviour is to misse of eternall life Qui ea quâ—… sunt Domini nesciunt a Domino nesciuntur saith Gregory Paulo attestante qui ait si quis autem ignorat ignorabitur The Councell of Rhemes denyeth that they can bee saved who doe not understand the Creed and the Lords Prayer And againe no man can bee saved without faith and no man can beleeve that which he doth not know nor hath heard Augustine ipsa ignorantia in ets qui intelligere noluerunt sine dubitatione peâ—…catum â—…st in eis autem qui non potuerunt pâ—…na pecâ—…ati Ergo in utrisque non â—…st justa excusatio sed justa damnatio Hierome Ignoratio Scripturarum ignoratio Christi Origen â—…aith the Devills possesse all those that live in ignorance § XIX All this notwithstanding the popish Impostors detaine the people in ignorance they have taken away the Key of knowledge and shut up the Kingdome of Heaven against their followers for neither they goe in themselves neither suffer them that faine would enter to goe in They forbid them to reade the Scriptures which are able to make them wise to salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15. which our Saviour therefore commandeth them to search Ioh. 5. 39. They suffer them not to heare them nor yet the divine service otherwise than in an unknowen tongue contrary to the rule of the Apostle 1 Cor. 14. and wherefore all this partly that their errours and abominations should not be seene for he that evill doeth hateth the light and as theeves by night wish the light of Gods Word to bee put out or at least to bee hid under a Bushell and partly that they may bee Lords over the peoples faith and may make them beleeve what they list
sense given by the Church of Rome and therein by the Pope who is as they say the supreme and onely authenticall interpreter of the Word from whom it is not lawfull to dissent So that in his sense any portion of the Scriptures though obscure must bee acknowledged the word of God but urged in any other sense it is the word of the Devill rather than the Word of God Now it is the sense of the Scriptures which is the Word of God rather than the letter the sense being the soule and life of the letter Non enim in legendo Scripturae sed in intelligendo consistunt saith Hierome The words saith Bellarmine are as the sheath the sense is the sword of the Spirit Thus hath the Church of Rome revolted from the generall doctrine of faith which is the written word of God or the holy Canonicall Scriptures The speciall doctrines of faith are the severall articles taught in the Scriptures which are the speciall objects of faith either quae justificat onely or qua justificat The justifying faith beleeâ—…h all the articles and doctrines of faith which are taught in the Word of God but the peculiar object of faith quatenus justificat is the doctrine of the Gospell As touching the speciall doctrines of Christian faith there are divers bundreds of errors wherein the Church of Rome hath revolted from the faith not at once but at diveâ—…s times and by degrees The number whereof is so great as that Popery or the Catholicisme of Papiâ—…ts may justly bee called the Catholike Apostasie But from the peculiar doctrine of faith quatenus justificat which is the doctrine of the Gospell concerning justification by faith in Christ alone the Church of Rome chiefly erreth as I have shewed in this Treatise and by their Antichristian doctrine in this point they are revolted from the Gospell which is Verbum fidei the Word or Doctrine of faith they are fallen from the comfortable doctrine of this grace and to them Christ is made of none effect as I have proved This assertion concerning the Apostâ—…sie of the now Church of Rome I â—…ppose as an antidote against the poison of their impudently depraved article concerning the Catholike Church wherein there is a double imposture or poysoâ—… both in respect of the object and also of the act of faith which two in every article of the Creed are to be considered For first in respect of the object whereas the Apostles Creed hath The holy Catholike Church they understand the Catholike Romane Church the mother for soâ—…th and mistresse of all Churches which they call â—…atholike not as it is one particular Church as every Orthodox Church was wont to bee called as the Catholike Church of Smyrna c. but as it comprehendeth all particular Churches which live in Communion with and in subjection to the See of Rome all which are as they say but one Church because they are subject to one visible head the Pope of Rome And they adde that out of this communion with the See of Rome and without this subjection to the Pope of Rome as the universall Bishop there is no salvation With this one nâ—…t they coâ—…y-catch those seduced soules which either they draw to their side or detaine in Communion with them Howheit it is a most shamelesse imposture For first can it bee imagined that the Apostles by Catholike understood the Romane Church which when they composed the Creede was not extant nor for divers yeeres after No doubt the Apostles meant that Church which then had a being and whereof themselves were members which also had been from the beginning of the world and was to continue for ever viz. the universall company of the Elect and that is the meaning of the word Catholike Secondly for the first sixe hundred yeares the Bishop of Rome did not challenge unto himsâ—…lse the Title or authority of universall Bishop but was onely the Archbishop or Patriarch of Rome unto whom the foure other Patriarches of Constantinople Alexandria Antioch and Ierusalem were no more subject than hee to them every one of them having the primacy within their severall Patriarchicall jurisdictions And although after the grant of the Tyrant Phocas in the yeare sixe hundred seven the Pope challenged for himselfe to be the universall Bishop and for his See to be the head of all Churches yet by the Greeke and other Churches which were and are the better and greater part of Christendome this claime never was nor is at this day acknowledged All which Churches notwithstanding wherein were innumerable Saints and Martyrs and the most holy Fatheâ—…s of the Church by this Romish article are most wicâ—…edly and schiâ—…matically excluded from Salvation because they acknowledged no subjection to the See of Rome But if the now Church of Rome be the Apostaticall Church having revolted from the ancient Religion of Christians by their idâ—…latry will-worship and supersâ—…ition and from the Ancienâ—… faith of Christians contained generally in the holy Canonicall Scriptures and more particularly in the Gospell as by other almost innumerable errours of Popery so more especially by those which I confute in this booke and if the head of this Catholike Apostasie that is to say the Pope be Antichrist then let all Christians who have any care of their soules consider whether it bee safe for them to live in the Communion of that Sect and in subjection to that See where they must have the apostaticall Church even the whore of Babylon to be their mother from whom they are commanded to separate Apoc. 18. 4. and the Antichrist to be their father their head their universall Bishop who prevaileth in them onely that perish 2 Thes. 2. 10. 2. As touching the act of faith their coozenage in respect thereof is worse if worse may be For where the Apostles Creed hath Credo sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam they understand this article as if the words were not Credo Ecclesiam I beleeve that there is a Catholike Church and that there is a Communion of Saints the members of that Church c but credo Ecclesiae or in Ecclesiam I give credit to the Church or I beleeve in the Church making the Church whereby they understand the now Church of Rome not onely the materiall but also formall object of faith in which they beleeve and for which they beleeve whatsoever it beleeveth or propoundeth to be beleeved And in this exposition they are growne so impudent as that they say that the Church Catholike meaning the now Romane Church is the very principle of our faith for which we are to beleeve the holy Scriptures and all other articles that it is the chiefe priâ—…ciple wheron the authority of the Scriptures dependeth and the last principle into which their faith is to bee resolved that in this article is summarily contained the whole Word of God not onely written but also unwritten that Christ propounded unto us the
the Colliars faith so much commended by Cardinall Hosius and others for he being examined by a learned man what he beleeved answered I beleeve that which the Church beleeveth and being asked what the Church beleiveth answered againe that which I beleeve and so in a round that he beleeved what the Church beleeved and that the Church beleeved as he beleeved but also that it is the safest for all even for those that are learned to rest in this faith Especially when they are assaulted by Satan with whom they say it is not safe to contend by Scriptures but rather to oppose that onely article against him As the said learned man who had opposed the Collyar found by experience For he being afterwards assaulted by Satan when he was deadly sicke and being not able to defend himselfe by Scriptures he was faine to bâ—…ake himselfe to the Colliars faith which no doubt is the readiest way for them who professe a faith not conformable to the Scriptures to put the Devil to silence who will rest well content with such an answer whereas if they should stand to the Scriptures the Devill would be able to confute them As he did Luther whiles hee was a Papist in the question concerning the private Masse which he did not to teach him the truth but by true accusations to bring him to despaire § IV. This doctrine of the Papists concerning implicite faith is both absurdly false and notoriously wicked False in diverse respects First in that they say justifying faith may be without knowledge when as first of all faith it selfe is a kind of knowledge yea a kind of certaine knowledge yea of all others the most certaine knowledge as I have already shewed proving that it is that knowledge which we have by Divine relation or report grounded on the authority of God speaking in his word Secondly because faith oftentimes in the scriptures is called knowledge or acknowledgment as Ioh. 17. 3. This is eternall life to know thee the onely true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Now we know God in the life to come by vision in this life by faith as their owne writers testifie Maldonat on that place what is the cause saith he that he seemeth to place eternall life in knowledge alone that is in faith onely And Ianseniâ—…s vita aeterna inchoativè imperfectè hic habetur cognoscendo Deum per fidem habetur autem in 〈◊〉 perfectè cognoscendo Deum per visionem Esai 53. 11. My righteous servant by his knowledge or acknowledgement that is by faith in him shall justifie many So 2 Pet. 1. 2 3. Eph. 1. 17. Col. 1. 10. 2. 2. 1 Tim. 2. 4. 2 Tim. 2. 25. 3. 7. Tit. 1. 1. where by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the knowledge or acknowledgement of Christ and his truth is meant nothing else but faith 1 Ioh. 2. 3 4. hereby we doe know that we doe know him that is beleeve in him if we doe keepe his Commandements he that saith he knoweth him namely by faith and keepeth not his Commandements is a lyar and the truth is not in him Heb. 11. 3. By faith we understand or know that the worlds were formed by the Word of God where the act of faith is expressed by this term of understanding that which we beleeve 2 Cor. 5. 1. we know that is we beleeve for otherwise it cannot be known but by faith that after the dissolution of our earthly tabemacle we have an eternall habitation in heaven Thirdly because in the Scriptures faith and knowledge are so linked together that what we acknowledg we beleeve what we beleeve we know Ioh. 6. 69. we beleeve and know that thou art that Christ Ioh. 10. 38. that you may know and beleeve that the Father is in me and I in him Ioh. 17. 8. they have knowen surely that I came out from thee saith Christ unto his Father and they have beleeved that thou didst send me Eph. 4. 13. till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God 1 Tim. 4. 3. to bee received with thankesgiving of them which beleeve and know the truth 1 Ioh. 4. 16. we have knowne and beleeved the love that God hath to us Fourthly it is not possible that a man should beleeve acknowledge or assent firmely to that which he doth not know so much as by relation or hearesay how can they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard and by hearing knowen Rom. 10. 14. And who knoweth not that the assent of faith determineth the judgement to that particular which is beleeved As for example if I beleeve the resurrection my judgement actually assenteth to that particular But if I never have so much as heard or understood that God hath revealed such a thing that there shall be a resurrection how can I possibly beleeve it or actually assent unto it And therefore implicite faith is so farre from being a justifying faith that it is not so good as the bare historicall faith which not onely wicked men but the Devils themselves have For historicall faith hath in it an actuall assent and implyeth a knowledge at least by relation of that which is beleeved But implicite faith hath neither Fifthly to the implicite faith the definition offaith Heb. 11. 1. doth in no sort agree for as it is so farre from being the substance of things hoped for that it doth not so much as know what are the things hoped for so it is further from being an evidence of things not seene which implyeth a certaine knowledge of things by relation which are not seen or knowne by sence or reason Sixthly that which implyeth a contradiction is false and absurd but the profession of the implicite faith made by a simple man viz. that hee beleeveth whatsoever the Catholicke Church beleeveth implyeth a contradiction not onely because hee doth not beleeve every yea scarce any particular but also through his ignorance sometimes doth actually beleeve that which the Church doth not beleeve or doth deny credit to that which the Church beleeveth But here now is the speciall priviledge of implicite faith that although a man beleeve an errour as that God the Father is greater than the Sonne or ancienter than he or that the persons of the Trinity are divided by locall distance one from another it is no offence so long as he thinketh the Church beleeveth so and so saith Gabriel himselfe If any man doe beleeve thinking that the Church doth so beleeve though it bee erroneous he sinneth not so that hee doe not obstinately adhere to his errour as was said before notab 2. Yea saith hee that which is more this faith is meritorious for such an one should not onely not sinne but also by so beleeving that which is false hee should merit Thus not onely hee is said to beleeve who indeed doth not beleeve nor give assent to the truth but also he
violence of fire Heb. 11. 33. 34. Answ. These examples recorded in the Scriptures were not wrought by the faithfull themselves but the Lord because they â—…id beleeve and trust in him sent his Angell to stoppe the mouths of Lions Dan. 6. 22. 23. and to quench the violence of fire Dan. 3. 17. 25. Howbeit if themselves had wrought these miracles it would prove no more but that some who had justifying faith had also the faith of working miracles Neither doth our Saviour Luk. 17. say that if a man had the justifying faith like a graine of mustard seed hee should be able to remoove mountaines for those who have had a great and a strong faith as namely Abraham have had no such power Yea but he speaketh of that faith which the disciples prâ—…ied him to increase Luk. 17. 5. But say I if you compare the place with his parallell Matth. 17. 20. it will appeare that both our Saviour and his Apostle speake of the faith of miracles For when our Saviour reproved them for their want of faith in that they were not able to cure the Lunaticke who notwithstanding were endued with justifying faith as many others are who though they have a strong faith yet are not able to worke such a cuâ—…e they desire our Saviour to increase or as the word is adde unto them faith Whereupon our Saviour returneth this answeare if you had faith as a graine of mustard seed c. doth hee meane justifying faith God forbid for then no man living could bee said to have so much of justifying faith as is a graine of mustard seed § IV. And whereas in the last place hee would prove by the conjunction of these three Faith Hope and Charity verse 13. that hee speaketh of the same faith whereof he had spoken verse 2. I answere first that it followeth not for here the Apostle maketh a new comparison of of Charity with Faith and Hope preferring it before them as greater both in respect of the breadth or 〈◊〉 for whereas the benefit of Faith and Hope respecteth habentem him that hath them Charity is extended to others and also in respect of the length or continuance For whereas Faith and Hope doe cease in the life to come faith being swallowed up in vision and hope in fruition love neverthelesse is continued with increase Secondly this place maketh rather against him Now saith the Apostle that is during this life these three abide none of them failing altogether in this life and therefore they alwayes goe together insomuch that whosoever hath any one of them hath alâ—…o the other two No man can have love or hope unlesse he have faith and no man hath true saith but he hath both love and hope and according to the measure of his faith such is the measure both of his love and of his hope For as that of Gregory is most true quantum credimus â—…antum amamus so it is no lesse true quantum credimus tantum speramus As for his allegation out of Augustine affirming that faith may be without charity I deny not but that the faith of hypocrites which beareth the name of faith as a carcase or counterfeit do of the man whose they are is without charity but profiteth not But that justifying faith may be without charity he saith not for how can it bee a justifying faith and not profit § V. His third testimony is Iaâ—… 2. 14. c. Where saith he Saint Iames not onely teacheth but also proveth that faith without workes doth not justific and that it may be without workes We answer that hee doth not speake of a true justifying faith but of faith professed onely or of the profession of faith which I proved before And this appeareth vers 14. where the question disputed in that discourse is propounded What doth it profit my brethren if a man shall say that hee hath faith or professeth himselfe to beleeve and hath not workes can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that faith of his which is in profession onely and without workes save him or justifie him No by no meanes for this affirmative interrogation is a most emphaticall negation This place therfore prooveth the contrary viz. that faith which is wiâ—…hout workes is not a true justifying faith and therefore a true justifying faith cannot be without workes But that Saint Iames speaketh of a true faith Bellarmine endevoureth to prove by five reasons against the maine drift of the Apostle in that place which as I shewed before was to prove that such a faith as is without workes is not a true justifying faith His first reason is because Saint Iames calleth it absolutely faith which name in the Scriptures alwâ—…yes signifieth the true faith that is or else hee speaketh to no purpose the true justifying faith First I answer that Saint Iames verse 14. doth not absolutely call it faith for he doth not say if a man have faith meaning a true faith but if a man shall say that hee hath faith can that faith which is in profession only save him And so in the verses following the faith which hee impleadeth doth not signifie the habiâ—… of true faith but the bare profession of faith But doth this word faith alwaies in the Scriptures fignifie the true justifying faith Nothing lesse for many times in the New Testament and almost alwayes in the Old faith is taken for fidelâ—…ty or faithfulnesse as Tit. 2. 10. sometimes for the doctrine of faith which is beleeved which the Papists themselves call the Catholike faith As Act. 6. 5. they obeyed the faith Act. 14. 27 the doore of faith Rom. 12. 6. the analogie of faith c. sometimes the profession of faith as Act. 14. 22. Rom. 1. 8. and so as hereafter I am to shew Iam. 2. 14. 24. And in this sence many are said to beleeve that is to have faith and are called fideles that is beleevers who onely professe the faith and are in their owne profession or opinion of others beleevers So Ioh. 2. 23. 8. 30 31. 33. Act. 8. 13. 21. and in this sence all that professe the name of Christ are called after his name Christians and are termed Fideles the faithfull not that all who are so called have the true justifying faith which is not of all nor yet of all that are called but onely of the elect For among those who are called the Faithfull there are many falsi fideles who are so falsly called as wee heard before out of Gregory sometimes for the faith of miracles as 1 Cor. 12. 9. 13. 2. Mat. 17. 20. Mar. 11. 22 23. Luk. 17. 5 6. Secondly hee saith that Saint Iames in the same chapter speaking of the sâ—…me faith saith that Abrahams faith wrought with his workes Ans. this is also contrary to the drift of Saint Iames who by this argument proveth the faith which is without workes to bee no true justifying faith because it is
sanctified by Faith Act. 15. 9. We overcome the world by Christ Ioh. 16. 33. We overcome the world by Faith 1 Ioh. 5. 4 5. We are the Sons of God by Christ Ephes. 1. 5. We are the Sons of God by Faith Gal. 3. 26. We have an heavenly inheritance by Christ Gal. 4. 7. We have an heavenly inheritance by Faith Act. 26. 18. We attaine to Eternall life by Christ 1 Ioh. 5. 11 12. We attaine to Eternall life by Faith Ioh. 3. 16. 5. 24. 6. 47. We are saved by Christ Ioh. 3. 17. Matth. 1. 21. We are saved by Faith Ephes. 2. 8. All which benefits are attributed to faith not absolutely but relatively in respect of the object which it doth receive being no otherwise caused or procured by faith but as it is the hand and instrument whereby we receive Christ who is our life Ioh. 14. 6. Col. 3. 6. our righteousnesse Ier. 23. 6. 1 Corinth 1. 30. our propitiation Rom. 3. 25. 1 Ioh. 2. 2. our peace Ephes. 2. 14. our sanctification Tit. 2. 14. our victorious conqueror of all the enemies of our salvation Col. 2. 14 15. our Redeemer and Saviour who also is eternall Life 1 Ioh. 5. 20. whom whosoever hath he hath eternall life 1 Ioh. 5. 11 12. § VII But if we doe not receive and embrace Christ by a lively assent at the least working in our hearts an unfained desire to be made partakers of him and in our wils a settled resolution to acknowledge him to bee our Saviour and to rest upon him alone for Salvation without this speciall apprehension and application at least in desire and intent Christ and his merits doe not availe them that are adulti and come to yeeres of discretion unlesse it be to their greater condemnation who not caring to lay hold upon Christ and to apprehend and apply his merits unto them suffer as much as in them lyeth his precious blood to be spilt in vaine as it is in vaine to them who doe not apprehend and seeke to apply it to themselves For though the obedience of Christ both active and passive bee a robe of righteousnesse and our very wedding garment to cover our nakednesse and our sinnes yet it will not cover us unlesse it bee put on Though his stripes and sufferings be a soveraigne salve to cure our soules yet it will not cure them unlesse it be applyâ—…d Though his Body be meate indeed and his Bloud bee drinke indeed to nourish us unto eternall life yet they will not yeeld nourishment unto us unlesse we eate his Body and drinke his Bloud all which is done by faith apprehending and applying Christ whereby we put on him and his righteousnesse apply the salve of his sufferings eate his Body and drinke his Bloud The which because the Papists want and wanting reject they are faine to flee to their outward formalities wherein their religion consisteth and to their opus operatum in the Sacraments as if they without a true and lively faith were able to justifie and to save them without which notwithstanding our blessed Saviour himselfe doth not availe men to salvation He that beleeveth and is baptized shall be saved but he that beleeveth not being adultus though hee bee baptized and receive all the Sacraments of the Romance Church hee shall notwithstanding be condemned Mar. 16. 16. Ioh. 3. 18 36. It is therefore plaine and evident that the faith which doth justifie must not bee a bare assent but a lively beleefe or assent specially apprehending and embracing and in desire at the least and purpose applying Christ unto us For actuall application cannot bee made untill wee finde our selves to have the condition of the promise which is that former degree of faith which being had and finding our selves to have it wee are actually to apply the promise and by application to gather assurance which some call speciall faith § VIII Now let us see what the Papists can object against this cleare truth There are two things or rather names which they dispute against viz. fides specialis and fiducia speciall faith and affiance which dispute notwithstanding hindreth not anything which I have spoken of the nature of justifying faith as it justifieth us before God For of justification taken in a large sence there are two degrees though of that which properly is called justification before God there neither are nor can bee any degrees as I have shewed The former is the justification of a sinner before God in the Court of Heaven by imputation of Christs righteousnesse apprehended by a lively assent or beleefe The second is our justification in the Court of our owne Conscience when wee are perswaded and in some measure assured of our justification which assurance of some is called fides specialis by which wee are not first justified before God but is then wrought in us when being already justified by faith the holy Ghost the Spirit of promise shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts sealeth us after wee have beleeved Eph. 1. 13. How beit the former degree of faith is also truely called speciall both in respect of the speciall object which is Christ and in regard of the speciall effect which is the speciall apprehension or embracing of Christ not onely in the judgement by a lively assent but also in the heart that is the will and affections by a desire to bee made partaker of him and his merits and by a setled will and resolution to acknowledge him to bee our Saviour and to rely upon him alone for salvation And in this sence that faith by which we are justified before God is a speciall faith But if that onely be called speciall faith by which we are justified in our owne Consciences that is assured of our justification that assurance arising from the actuall application of the promise to our selves then I say and avouch that this speciall faith is not that by which we are justified before God For we must have a justifying faith being the condition of the promise before we can proceed to application and first wee must bee justified before God before wee can have any assurance thereof in our owne Consciences when as therefore the Papists dispute against tâ—…is speciall faith proving that by it we are not â—…ustified before God they plead besides the purpose And yet for all their proofes it is truely called a justifying faith because by it we are justified in the Court of our owne Conscience § IX The like is to be said of Fiducia or affiance which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against which the Papists hotly dispute proving that it is not of the essence of justifying faith when notwithstanding divers of their owne Writers as well as of ours have expounded credere by fidere and fides by fiducia But they should understand that many of our Writers by affiance meane assurance which is the plerophorie of faith unproperly I confesse but
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he which adhereth to faith alone is blessed Seventhly In Ephes. 2. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by faith alone hee saved Eightly In Col. 1. 27. For at once to bring men more senselesse than stones to the dignity of Angels simply by bare words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by faith alone without all difficulty it is indeed the glory and riches of the mystery Ninthly In Tit. 1. 13. For if thou doest give credit to thy faith why doest thou bring in other things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if faith were not sufficient to justifie Bellarmine by other things understandeth the ceremonies of the Law When Chrysostome indeed rejecteth al other things because faith it selfe is sufficient to justifie Tenthly There is a notable testimony cited by Bishop Iustinian out of Chrysostome in Psal. 14. which doth not only conclude this question against the Papists but also putteth a manifest difference betwixt sanctification which consisteth of many virtues and justification unto which faith onely is required Iustitia conflatur ex multis virtutibus â—…na virtus activa non facit justitiaâ—… quemadmodum nec una tabula perficit navigium nec unus lapis domum Vna sola virtus justificat fides quae est virtutum fastigium Righteousnesse is compounded of many virtues and one active virtue maketh not righteousnesse Even as one planke doth not make a ship nor one stone an house onely virtue justifieth namely faith which is the top of all virtues 11. Serm. de fide lege naturae Without faith no man hath aâ—…tained to life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the thiefe on the Crosse beleeving onely was justified and afterwards twice he affirmeth that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faith by it selfe saved Bellarmine answereth that Chrysostome teacheth that sometimes faith alone that is without externall workes doth suffice which cannot be applyed to the penitent thiefe who as I shewed before wanted not for the time externall workes and yet not by them but by faith alone he was justified XIII Hesychius in Leviticum Grace is given out of mercie and compassion and is apprehended by faith alone fide comprehenditur solâ—… not out of works as the Apostle saith for then grace shall not be grace XIV Augustine Nam sine bonorum operum meritis per sidem justificatur impius quidem solam For without the merits of good workes a sinner is justified and that by faith alone 2. Apud Gratianum this is the faith which worketh by love huic duntaxat remissio delictorum promittitur to this onely remission of sins is promised cui soli venia promitoitu to which alone parâ—…on is promised quâ solâ peccata relaxantur by which alone sinnes are released 3 In Psal. 88. conc 2. sola fides Christi mundat The faith of Christ doth cleanse alone 4. Serm de tempore 68 Abraham beleeved God and it was accounted to him for righteousnesse Ecce sine opere justificatur exfide quicquid illi legali posset observatione conferri totum credulitas sola dâ—…navit Behold without workes he is justified by faith and whatsoever might bee conferred upon him by the observation of the Law all that faith alone bestowed 5. In Ioan. 8. On those words you heare not because you are not of God this was spoken to them who where not onely vicious by sinne but also foreknowne that they were not to beleeve ea fide qua solâ possent à peccatorum obligatione liberari with that faith by which alone they might be delivered from the bond of their sinnes 6. Out of his sermons De verbis Domini this testimony is usually cited Medicina animae omnium vulnerum una propitiatio pro delictâ—…s credere in Christum The medicine for all wounds of the soule and the onely propitiation for all sinnes is to beleeve in Christ. 7. Ad duas Epistolas Pelag. quantaelibet fuisse virtutis â—…ntiquos praedices justos non eos salvos fecit nisi fides mediatoris qui in remissionem peccatorum sanguine fudit Bellarmiâ—…e answereth that in this place are excluded onely Nature and the Law of Moses Reply But the place is plaine that though the virtue of the ancient Fathers were never so great yet neither it nor any thing else could save them but onely faith in Christ. 8. Lib. 83. quaest If any when hee hath beleeved shall presently depart out of this life the justification of faith abideth with him neither for his precedent good workes because not by merit but by grace hee came unto it nor for the subsequent because he is not suffered to remaine in this life And therefore say we by faith alone To this Bâ—…llrrmine answereth that Augustine speaketh of a lively faith as though wee spake of any other for Augustine there saith that a man is justified without workes going before faith but that justifying faith is such a faith as worketh by love Bellarmine then confesseth that a lively faith which worketh by love doth justifie alone As for that which is not lively nor accompanied with charity we teach that it justifieth neither alone nor at all Thus hath hee indevoured in vaine to answere some allegations out of six of the Fathers The rest either of the same Authors or of others either before named or now to bee cited remaine unanswered saving foure others which because he would have men thinke we want Testimonies of Antiquity hee hath afforded us out of his owne store Which wee will examine in their due place And in stead of the first which hee citâ—…th out of XV Cyrill of Alexandria being to no purpose and yet falsified by him for Cyrill doth not say hominem per solam fidem inhaerere Christo as Bellarmine citeth him and being also false in that sense for which indeed our prevaricator doth alleadge him that a man may abide in Christ by faith and yet want love and perish But in stead of this I will requite him with another of the same Authour in the same Commentaries upon Iohn on those words Ioh. 14. 1. Ye beleeve in God beleeve also in me per fidem namque saith he non aliter servamur by faith we are saved and not otherwise that is by faith alone XVI To Cyrill we adjoyne Sedulius as being of the same time as Bellarmine following Trithemius supposeth hee wrote saith Bellarmine an explanation upon all the Epistles of Saint Paul taken out of Origen Ambrose Hierome and Augustine meaning those Commentaries of Ambrose and Hierome which before I cited Whereby it may appeare that those Commentaries in the time of Sedulius were of good esteeme for out of those very Commentaries of Hierome he hath collected many briefe passages as in other matters so in this particular As Hierome therefore had said in Rom. 1. 16. so saith hee almost in the same words justiâ—…ia Dei est quod
and of the true worship of God Sometimes it signifieth affiance in God Psal. 9. 10. Esa. 11. 10. compared with Rom. 15. 12. Psal. 69. 6 And so faith is the cause of affiance for by faith wee have affiance Eph. 3. 12. Sometimes it signifieth invocation and calling upon the name of God So David sought God 2 Sam. 12. 16. that is besought him So Esa. 55. 6. Psal. 34. 4. Matth. 7. 7 8. Ier. 29. 12 13. Zach. 8. 21. 22. 2 Chron. 2. 3 4. and thus faith is the cause of prayer which if it bee effectuall is called the prayer of faith Iam. 5. 16. And this is â—…ignified in § VIII The next place which Bellarmine alleageth viz. Rom. 10. 13. 14. whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall bee saved How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not beleeved and how shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard and how should they heare without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent Where Bellarmine observeth this order of justification he should have said of salvation First sending of Preachers Secondly preaching Thirdly faith Fourthly invocations Fisthly salvation that is saith he justification which is as he saith the healing of the soule from the disease of sinne Of these saith he sending and preaching are without us therfore the first beginning of justification within us is faith which invocation doth follow and the rest in their order I answere first that the Apostle setteth downe in order the degrees not of justification but of salvation Whereof the first after election is vocation unto which three of these degrees are referred First sending of Preachers Secondly Preaching Thirdly hearing by which faith commeth The second is justification by faith Thirdly sanctification whereof one principall duety is mentioned viz. invocation which seemeth to bee put as sometimes it is for the whole worship of God or religion Fourthly salvation Secondly in reckoning these degrees he omiâ—…teth one in favour of their implicite faith For where the Apostle saith how shall they callupon him in whom they have not beleeved how shall they beleeve in him of whom they have not heard and consequently by hearing knowne this degree he leaveth out which proveth that men cannot beleeve in God who have not heard of him nor by hearing knowne him Thirdly his inference is of no force at all For by this place it is not proved that faith is the first beginning of justification but this is proved that as the word begetteth faith which doth justifie or as the Apostle speaketh in other words Rom. 8. 30 whom the Lord doth call them he doth justifie so faith begetteth invocation and all other dueties of sanctification for whom God doth justifie hee doth sanctifie Now sanctification is the beginning of glorification in this life for by it the Lord beginneth in us a spirituall and eternall life and as glory is gratia consummata so grace is gloria inchoata So that from this place compared with Rom. 8. 30. and 2 Thess. 2. 13 14. wee may be bold to set dowue the degrees of salvation in this order Election Vocation Iustification Glorification and that either begun in this life which is sanctification or consummate in the life to come which is our eternall salvation § IX His third testimony is Ioh. 1. 12. So many as received him to them hee gave power to be made the sonnes of God to them which beleeve in his name Where saith he Saint Iohn plainly teacheth that these who receive Christ by faith are not yet the Sonnes of God but may bee made the Sonnes of God if they goe on further so that they begin also to hope and to love for love properly maketh men the Sonnes of God Answ. The words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where Bellarmine by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the vulgar Latine readeth potestatem understandeth possibility as if he had said potentiam and the Verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the aorist hee understandeth as if it were the future as if the meaning were that those who receive Christ by faith are in a good possibility to become hereafter the Sonnes of God if to their faith they shall adde hope and love for it is love properly saith he and not faith that maketh men Gods children But the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never signifieth possibility but as in other places it is translated power or authority so here as also 1 Cor. 8. 9. 9. 12. right or priviledge or as Iansenius interpreteth authoritatem dignitatâ—…m jus And the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie not that they may be made hereafter but that so soone as men beleeve they are already the Sonnes of God hee gave them this right or priviledge this prerogative dignity or preheminence to bee the Sonnes of God And so Iansenius the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may bee rendred not onely fieri to bee made but also esse to be that is now saith hee may bee the sense hee gave them that authority right and dignity ut sint Dei filii that they are the Sonnes of God not onely after but when they doe receive him For of them that receive Christ even by the first degree of faith it is said that they are borne of God 1 Ioh. 5. 1. Whosoever beleeveth that Iesus is Christ is borne of God hee doth not say is in possibility to bee hereafter but hee speaketh in the time past 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee is already borne of God and in this very place Ioh. 1. 12 13. they that beleeve in Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are borne of God For indeed regeneration in order of nature though not in time goeth before faith which the Spirit when hee doth regenerate us worketh in us Iansenius well observeth that the parts of this text understood according to Bellarmines sence cannot well stand together that those who are said to have received Christ should have power given them wherby they may be made the Sonnes of God For if they have received him they are already the Sonnes of God and need not to bee made Sonnes of God And on the contrary if they are in possibility to be made Sons then now they are not and if they be not Sonnes then they have not yet received him And further he observeth that of them who are here said to have power given them to be the Sons of God in the next verse it is said that they are born of God Besides those who have not yet received Christ by faith are notwithstanding in possibility to be made the Sons of God whiles they are capable of faith and are in possibility to beleeve The place to which he referreth us is 1 Ioh. 2. 19. Ye know that hee who worketh righteousnesse is borne of God from whence this may be gathered that working of righteousnesse is an evident signe or marke of him that is borne of
condition of faith See Act. 8. 37. 10. 43. 13. 38 39. Ro. 4. 5. Gal. 2. 16. and so every where Before the incarnation of Christ it was the good pleasure of God by faith onely to justifie the faithfull as Bellarmine himselfe hath confessed And doth he require any other condition of us are not we justified as they were By his knowledge that is by faith in him my righteous servant shall justifie many Yea but the Scriptures saith Bellarmine much more plainely exact the condition of Penance and of the Sacraments to justification than of faith as Ezek. 18. 27. The wicked if hee repent of his sinnes shall live Luk. 13. 4. unlesse yee repent ye shall likewise perish Ioh. 3. 5. unlesse a man be borne a-new of water and the holy Ghost he shall not enter into the Kingdome of God Answ. Many things are required to salvation which are not required to justification which as they be necessary forerunners of glorification so are they the fruits of faith and consequents of justification viz. repentance and newnesse of life which is the thing mentioned in these places Againe happinesse which consisteth partly in justification or remission of sinnes which is beatitudo viae and partly in eternall life which is beatitudo patriâ—… is oftentimes attributed to those things which are not the causes of happines but the notes and markes of them that be happy There is but one happinesse properly and that is to be in Christ who is eternall life whom whosoever hath hath eternall life Of this happinesse Christ alone is the foundation and the cause and faith the instrument of our union and communion with Christ. All other virtues and graces are but the fruits and consequently the signes and markes of faith or of our being in Christ by faith And therefore are not so many beatitudes though they are blessed that have them but so many notes of one and the same happinesse It is true that if we be sorry for our sinnes because by them we have displeased him who hath been so gracious a God unto us if we confesse them crave pardon for them and forsake them all which are duties of repentance the Lord hath promised to forgive them And yet these are not causes of our justification before God but fruits of faith by which we come to be justified in our owne conscience By faith we obtaine remission of sinnes and by these duties of repentance which are the fruits of justifying faith we attaine to the assurance of it That prayer which somuch prevaileth with God is the prayer of faith That repentance which is to life is caused by faith without which it is impossible to please God and therefore the Disciples when they understood that the Gentiles were brought to beleeve in Christ conclude that God had given them repentance unto life Act. 11. 18. As for the Sacraments the justification which is assigned to them doth not hinder justification by faith onely but serveth to seale and to assure it § VI. The third cause or reason proving that faith doth justifie alone is because it is the property of faith to apprehend and to apply the promise of justification to our selves For the clearing whereof I desire the reader to call to minde what hath beene said concerning the two degrees of justifying faith For by the former wee apprehend receive and embrace Christ who is our righteousnesse offered in the promises of the Gospell to our justification before God By the other wee apply the promises of the Gospell to our selves that we may be justified in our owne consciences Both which actions of receiving and applying the promises to our â—…elves cannot be ascribed to any other grace but are proper to faith onely To this argument Bellarmine shapeth two answeres the former whereof is a meere cavill at the word apprehension which wee make proper to faith as if by apprehending we did meane the first act of the understanding when it conceiveth the object But this point I cleared before in the first question concerning the nature of faith where I shewed that this apprehension whereof Bellarmine speaketh goeth before all judgement of the minde And that the understanding having first conceived and apprehended the object judgeth of it either by withholding the assent if it be doubtfull which is called doubting or by giving assent either weakely which is opinion or firmely which is knowledge this firme assent or knowledge is grounded either upon the evidence of the thing which is either manifest in it selfe and that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the cleare intelligence or manifested by discourse which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or science or else the thing being not evident either to sense or reason upon the infallible authority of God speaking in his word which is Faith By this beleefe we receive Christ not onely in our judgements by assent but also if this assent be lively and effectuall we receive embrace and lay hold upon him as our Saviour with all our soules acknowledging him in our judgements in our hearts desiring to bee made partakers of him in our wils resolving to professe him to bee our Saviour and to obey him as our Lord c. § VII This is the apprehension whereof we speake and which is peculiar to faiâ—… as it is evident Be it saith Bellarmine that justification after a sort is apprehended by faith Surely it is not so apprehended that indeed it is had and doth inhere but onely that it is in the minde after the manner of an object apprehended by an action of the understanding and will and so saith he love and joy apprehend In these things Bellarmine sheweth himselfe to be a diviner rather than a divine we doe not say that in our justification before God justification is apprehended by faith but the righteousnesse of Christ unto justification And that this righteousnesse of Christ though not inherent in us is as truely and really made ours by imputation as our sinnes though not inherent in him were made his when he truely and really suffered for them By this hand of faith we receive Christ Ioh. 1. 12. by it we receive and embrace the promises Heb. 11. 16. by it we receive remission of sinnes Act. 10. 43. 26. 18. By this mouth as it were of the soule we eate the body of Christ and drinke his bloud That which hee speaketh of justification being in the minde after the manner of an object apprehended by an action of the understanding and the will may in some sort be verified of the apprehension of speciall faith applying justification to the beleever But to say that after this manner love and joy apprehend it is against sense For faith apprehendeth it by a perswasion yea by a firme perswasion upon which follow love and joy not apprehending but loving and rejoycing at that which faith doth apprehend But these two are not incident unto a Papist who
For the life of faith it self doth not depend upon workes as the cause but is thereby knowne as by the effects You see againe what the question is which hee will conclude namely that the faith which is without workes or which is in profession onely without workes is not a lively but a dead faith and consequently not a justifying faith For a justifying faith is like the faith of Abraham and of Rahab but that faith which is in profession onely and wanteth workes is not like the faith of Abraham and of Rabaâ—… For though Abraham was iustified by faith without workes as the Apostle Paul proveth yea by faith alone as the Papists themselves confesse yet the faith by which hee was justified was not alone but was fruitfull of good workes by which both hee and his faith were justified that is knowne to be just and upright § IX Vers. 21. was not Abraham our Father saith hee justified by workes when hee had offered his sonne Isaack upon the Altar Of which wordes the meaning is not that Abraham by that worke was justified before God or made just for long before the holy Ghost gave him this testimony Gen. 15. Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousnesse not that then hee first believed or was then first justified for when hee first left his countrey which hee left by faith Heb. 11. 8. hee had believed and his faith no doubt was imputed to him for righteousnesse but that by that speciall worke after hee was proved hee was approved and knowne to be a righteous man For upon Abrahams approbation of his faith and obedience when he was tryed the Lord gave him this testimony Gen. 22. 12. Now I know that thou fearest God c. Did not God know it before Yea no doubt but hee speaketh after the maner of men He had tempted Abraham that is by a commandement of tryall hee had proved his faith and obedience not that hee did not know but that he would make it knowne to Abraham and others As on the contray God is said 2. Chron. 32. 31. to have left Ezechias to try him that hee might know that is that hee might make knowne all that was in his heart when as therefore Abraham being tryed had by that act of offering his sonne approved his faith and obedience the Lord saith Now I know that is now by this tryall it is made knowne that thou art a just man and one that feareth God And in this sence as it is most manifest hee is said by his workes to have been justified that is knowne declared approved to be a just man § X. Hereupon St. Iames inferreth vers 22. Doe you not see how faith did co-operate to or with his workes The verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be understood two wayes either that faith with other graces did co-operate to the bringing forth of this worke as namely with the feare of God and love of God Gen. 22. 12. though faith was the principall Heb. 11. 17. Or else that faith did co-operate with his workes not to justifie him before God but to manifest declare and approve his righteousnes In which sence we must understand the word Faith as in the proposition vers 24. for faith professed or the profession of faith which doth concurre together with workes to make a man truely justified to bee knowne And in this sence faith doth co-operate with works and may be said to justifie by declaring a man to be just though Bellarmine holdeth the contrary For that a man may bee acknowledged to be a man truely justified before God by faith two things must concurre the profession of the true faith and a Christian conversation neither of which alone is sufficient It followeth in the same verse and by workes was faith made perfect Which words saith Bellarmine cannot signifie any other but that his righteousnesse which was begunne by faith was perfected by good works Answ. But Iames doth not say that his righteousnesse but his faith was perfected and whereas hee saith the words cannot signifie otherwise I say they may be understood two other wayes First that faith by workes is perfected because by workes it is manifested and perfectly knowne in which sence Gods strength is perfected in our weakenesse 2. Cor. 12. 9. Secondly because workes bring the fruits and effects of faith to be perfected when it bringeth forth good fruits according to his kind For when any thing hath attayned to the end as it hath when it doth effectually produce those uses or fruits for which it was ordayned it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be perfect Now the end of our justification by faith is our sanctification For when faith was wrought in us that is to say in our regeneration we were the workemanship of God created unto good workes which God hath preordayned that wee should walke in them Eph. 2. 10. Faith therefore may then bee said to be perfected when it doth effectually bring forth the fruit of good workes whereby a man is not made but declared to be just § XI Vers. 23. And this appeareth yet more plainely by that which followeth And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse This Scripture was fulfilled Gen. 15. 6. above 30. yeares before his offering of Isaake and here againe it is said to have been fulfilled in this act that is the truth of that testimony which was given him so long before was then manifested when by this worke hee evidently declared that hee was indued with a true lively iustifying faith And to the like purpose the same sentence might as Bellarmine confesseth be applyed to Abraham in respect of any other notable fruit of his faith that then also that sentence was verified Abraham believed God c. For then it was declared and manifested that hee was indued with a true iustifying faith As for that conceipt of Bellarmine that if the Hebrew word be well scanned it will appeare that the meaning of the words is that Abrahams believing God was a â—…ust worke it is but a poore shift For Paul understandeth it of Abrahams person and maketh that text his principall ground of the iustification of the faithfull by imputation of righteousnesse without workes And Iames likewise understandeth it of Abrahams person shewing that by this act of offering his sonne the truth of that testimony was manifested that hee was indued with a true faith by which hee was iustified It followeth in the same verse and hee was called the friend of God 2. Chron. 20. 7. Esai 41. 8. that is by this act hee approved himselfe to bee such a one § XII Hereupon Saint Iames Verse 24. inferreth this consectary or conclusion you see then by this example of Abraham that a man who is justified before God by faith alone as Abraham was and that by imputation of righteousnesse without workes is also justified by workes
conscience of the faithfull in the assumption according to Gods Word contained in the proposition therefore I have remission of sinnes therefore I shall be saved And in this sense Ministers are said to remit sinnes Ioh. 20. 23. and consequently to justifie when they doe pronounce remission of sinnes to them that beleeve and repent And whatsoever they doe in this behalfe upon earth according to the Word is ratified in heaven § VI. As touching the Sacraments in them first the benefit of the Messias is represented before our eyes by the outward signes whereupon the Sacrament is called Verbum visibile Secondly such is the Sacramentall union betweene the signe and the thing signified that together with the signe the thing signified that is Christ with all his merits is offered in the lawfull use of the Sacrament Thirdly the benefit of the Messias is not only offered in the lawfull use together with the signe but also conferd and given to every faithfull and worthy receiver And hereof the Sacrament is a pledge given to the beleever to assure him that as the Minister doth give unto him the signe so the Lord doth give unto him the thing signified And in this sense every Sacrament is a seale of that righteousnesse which is by faith Rom. 4. 11. annexed to the promise of the Gospell which by delivery of the Sacrament is particularly applyed to every faithfull receiver to assure him in particular of his justification and salvation by Christ. Thus the ministery of the Gospell is the meanes to beget faith and the Sacraments the instruments to confirme the same But the Papists deny both for that faith is begotten in the ministery of the Word and that so men attaine to remission of sinnes and justification they say it is a fiction of the heretikes of these times Neither doe they grant that Sacraments are seales of righteousnesse or that they were ordained to seale the promises unto us But they hold them to bee such effectuall instruments as doe by vertue inherent in themselves conferre justifying grace which they call gratiam gratum facientem ex opere operatâ—… By which doctrine a they have turned Religion into a meere outward formality according to the prophecy of them 2 Tim. 3. 5. ascribing all the degrees of salvation to be atchieved in this life viz. Vocation Iustification Sanctification to the externall use of the Sacraments so they have made their doctrine of justification to bee an idle speculation whereof in their practice there is little or no use For to what purpose doe they dispute of justification by vertuous preparations and gracious dispositions when they teach that the Sacraments doe ex opere operato that is by the very performance of the outward act justifie the receiver requiring in him neither any vertuous preparation or gracious disposition for without them hee is justified Onely this caution they doe interpose that hee doe not ponere obicem mortalis peccati that hee put not the obstacle of mortall sinne For if those things should necessarily be required then the Sacraments should conferre grace not ex opere operato as they stifly hold but ex opere operantis So much of the hand of the giver § VII The instrument on our part which is as it were manus accipientis the hand of the receiver is the grace of justifying faith which I noted in the definition when I said that the Lord imputeth the righteousnesse of Christ to a beleeving sinner Now as touching saith divers things are to be considered For first it is said to justifie not as it is a qualitie or habite in us as the Papists teach ipsa fides saith g Bellarmine censetur esse justitia faith it selfe is accounted to be justice and it â—…elfe is imputed unto righteousnesse Rom. 4. 5. for so it is a part of sanctification but as it is the instrument and as it were the hand to receive Christ who is our righteousnesse For if we should be justified by faith as it is an habit in us properly then we should be justified by habituall and inherent righteousnesse which hereafter I shall fully disproveAnd if we be not justified by it as it is an habit then much lesse as it is an act as 〈◊〉 and his followers teach as though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ipsum credere did properly justifie Which opinion is worse than the other For faith doth justifie as hereaster shall be proved as the instrument only but it is the instrument not as it is an act but as it is an habit producing that act and therefore it is said that we are justified by faith and that faith is imputed unto righteousnesse But if wee should bee justified by it as it is an act then we should be justified by our owne workes which hereafter is also to be confuted and further if we were justified by it as it is an act then we should be no longer justified actually than we doe actually beleeve 〈◊〉 so there should bee an intercision of justification which I proved before to be a continued act so ost as there is an intermission of the act of faith which is ridiculous Againe if wee should be justified by faith either as it is an habit or an act in sensu proprio as they speake and not relatively or metonymically then should we be justified by one habit alone or by the act of one habit and consequently by a partiall and most unperfect righteousnesse When it is certaine that all the habits and acts of grace which are in the best concurring together are not sufficient to justifie a man before God for the reasons hereafter to be delivered lib. 4. 7. It is true that faith is imputed for righteousnesse and is accepted of God as the perfect performance of the whole law but this is to bee understood relatively in respect of the object received by faith that is Christ who is the end and complement of the Law to all that beleeve insomuch that whosoever truly beleeveth in Christ hath fulfilled the Law § VIII 2. is the consequent of the former For if faith doth justifie onely as it is an hand or instrument to apprehend and receive Christ then justifying faith must be such a faith as doth apprehend receive and embrace Christ which is not done neither by the implicite nor the unformed nor the bare historical and generall faith of the Papists but it is done first by a lively and effectuall assent to the speciall doctrine concerning justification and salvation by Christ which is the condition of the Evangelicall promise and then by a sound application of the promise to our selves as having that condition For by a lively and effectuall beleefe we receive and embrace Christ not only in our judgements by a willing and firme assent being undoubtedly perswaded and assured thathe is the Saviour of all that truly beleeve in him but also in our hearts by an hungring desire
because the hebrew word which signifieth to justifie doth never signifie to make righteous by infusion of righteousnesse § I. HAving thus briefely set downe the true Doctrine of Iustification according to the Word of God we are now to confute the erroneous doctrine of of the Papists There are six maine and capitall errours which the Papists most obstinately hold and maintaine concerning justification and consequently so many principall heads of controversie betweene us whereunto divers other particular questions are to be reduced The first concerning the name whether justification and sanctification are to bee confounded The second concerning the moving cause which is the justifying and saving Grace of God which they call gratia gratum faciens The third concerning the matter of justification The fourth concerning the forme The fifth concerning the instrumentall cause which is Faith The sixth concerning the fruits of faith and consequents of justification which are good workes concerning which are two maine questions First whether they doe justifie a man before God Secondly whether they doe merit Eternall Life § II. The first capitall errour of the Papists is that they confound justification and sanctification and by confounding of them and of two benefits making but one they utterly abolish as shall be shewed the benefit of justification which notwithstanding is the principall benefit which we have by Christ in this life by which wee are freed from hell and entituled to the Kingdome of Heaven And this they doe in two respects for first they hold that to justifie in this question signifieth to make righteous by righteousnesse inherent or by infusion of righteousnesse that is to sanctifie Secondly they make remission of sinne not to be the pardoning and forgiving of sinne but the utter deletion or expulsion of sinne by infusion of righteousnèsse Thus they make justification wholly to consist in the parts of sanctification For whereas Sanctification is partly privative which is the taking away of sinne which we according to the Scriptures call mortification and partly positive which we call vivification and is partly inward or habituall consisting in the habits of Grace infused and partly actuall which is our new obedience and practice of good workes all these and onely these they make to concurre to justification which with them is partly privative which they call remission of sinne whereby they understand the utter deletion or extinction of sinne wrought by infusion of perfect righteousnesse which is an higher degree of mortification than we can attaine unto in this life and partly positive and that either habituall which they call their first justification wherein a man of a sinner is made righteous by infusion of the habits of Grace which is indeed regeneration and partly actuall which they call their second justification wherein a righteous man is made more just by the practice of good works whereby they merit not onely the increase of righteousnesse but also the Crowne of Eternall Life § III. Of this first controversie therefore are two questions First whether to justifie doth signifie to make righteous by infusion of righteousnesse which is to sanctifie Secondly whether remission of sinne be the utter deletion and abolition of sinne by infusion of righteousnesse In both the Papists hold the affirmative The former which is a most pernicious errour they ground upon the like notation of the Latine words to justifie and to sanctifie That as to sanctifie is to make holy by holinesse inherent so to justifie is to make just by infusion of righteousnesse But though the notation of the Latine words were to be respected yet no more could be inforced from thence but that to justifie is to make just And that is all which Bellarmine goeth about to prove Now God maketh men just two wayes by imputation as he justifieth by infusion as he sanctifieth them For if a man may bee made just not only inwardly by obtaining righteousnesse but also outwardly by declaration as Bellarmine himselfe saith then much more by imputation even as we were made sinners by Adams actuall transgression and as Christ was made sinne that is a sinner for us For even as by Adams disobedience wee were made sinners and guilty of damnation his transgression being imputed to us so are wee made just by the obedience of Christ imputed to us And as Christ who knew no sinne was made a sinner by imputation of our sinnes to him so we are made the righteousnesse of God in him that is righteous in him by the imputation of his righteousnesse who is God unto us But indeed the force of the Latine words is to be respected no further than as they are the true translation of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament and of the Greeke in the New § IV. The Hebrew root Tsadaq from whence those verbs do spring which signifie to justifie is by the Septuagint translated sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be just blamelesse or pure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be just as Iob 9. 2. 15. 20. 10. 15. 15. 14. 25. 4. 33. 12. 34. 5. 35. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be blamelesse as Iob 22. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be pure as Iob 4. 17. sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same sense to be just as being a translation not of a passive but of a Neuter as Gen. 38. 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thamar is more just than I. So Psal. 19. 10. jâ—…dicia Dei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 51. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so Rom. 3. 4. Psal. 143. 2. Esai 43. 9. cum 41. 26. Ezek. 16. 52. In Ecclus. 18. 1. Deus solus justificabitur the Greeke is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be reputed just as Iob 11. 2. 13. 18. 40. 3. Sometimes to be justified and absolved from sinne to bee pronounced and accepted as righteous as Esai 43. â—…6 Let us plead together declare thou 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 first thine iniquities that thou maist bee justified Esai 45. 25. in the Lord all the seed of Israel shall be justified The passive is onely once used Dan. 8. 14. where it is said that the sanctuary after 2300. dayes shall bee justified that is expiated or purged In the second conjugation it signifieth to justifie but not as the word is used in the doctrine of justification but as it signifieth either to arrogate righteousnesse to a mans selfe as Iob 32. 2. or to attribute or ascribe it to others as Iobâ—…3 â—…3 32. or to shew himselfe or others righteous as Ier. 3. 11. Ezek. 16. 51 52. In the third conjugation it signifieth to justifie in that sense that the question of justification And it is verbum forense a judiciall word used in Courts of judgement which usually is opposed to condemning And it signifieth to absolve and to acquit from guilt and accepting a man as righteous to pronounce him just
or to give sentence with him Deut. 25. 1. If there be a controversie betweene men and they come unto judgement that the Iudges may judge them then they shall justifie the righteous and condemne the wicked Prov. 17. 15. Hee that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the just even they both are abomination to the Lord and so the word is used 2 Sam. 15. 4. Psal. 82. 3. Iob 27. 5. Esai 5. 23. § V. From the Courts of men and from humane Iudges this word is translated to spirituall judgements and is attributed to God the Iudge to Christ our Mediatour and Advocate to Preachers as they are the Embassadours of God in Christ his stead God is said to justifie when he absolveth a man from sin or guilt and pronounceth him just Exod. 23. 7. I will not justifie a wicked man I will not absolve or acquit him or hold him guiltlesse 1 King 8. 32. and 2 Chron. 6. 23. Salomon desireth the Lord that he would judge his servants condemning the wicked to bâ—…ing his way upon his head and justifying the righteous to give him according to his righteousnesse Esai 50. 8. Christ for the comfort of his members argueth as the Apostle doth to the like purpose Rom. 8. he is neere that justifieth me who will contend with me who is mine adversary who shall condemne mee Christ our Saviour is also said to justifie both as our Mediator and surety paying our debt Esai 53. 11. my righteous servant agniâ—…one sui that is by faith in him shall justifie many and he shall beare their iniquities and also as our intercessour and advocate to plead for us sinners appealing from the tribunall of justice to the throne of grace 1 Iohn 2. 2. Rom. 8. 34. Preachers also are said to justifie Dan. 12. 3. both as they are the instruments of the holy Ghost to beget faith in the soules of the Elect by which they are justified in the Court of heaven and also as they are Embassadours and Ministers of God to pronounce remission of sinnes to them that beleeve and repent and so to justifie them in the court of their owne Conscience There remaineth the fourth Conjugation importing a reciprocall signification in which the word is once only used Gen. 44. 16. how shall we justifie our selves § VI. These are all the places wherein I fiâ—…de this word to bee used in the old Testament By all which it doth evidently appeare that the Hebrew word which signifieth to justifie doth never signifie to make righteous by infusion of righteousnesse or by righteousnesse inherent the which will more clearely appeare by the countrary for as to condemne is to make wicked so to justifie is to make just The word Rashah signifieth to be wicked as Tsadaq doth signifie to be just so Hirshiah which signifieth to make wicked is to condemne as Hitsdiq which signifieth to make just is to justifie As therefore they who are condemned are said to be made wicked or unjust namely by sentence so they who are justified are said to be made just viz. by sentence But he that condemneth the wicked whether it be God or man though he be said according to the force of the word to make him wicked yet doth not make him wicked formally or by infusion of wickednesse inherent Therefore he that justifieth a man whether he be God or man though he be said according to the Etymologie of the word to make him just yet quatenus justificat he doth not make him just as hee justifieth him by righteousnesse inherent No more than hee that condemneth the just doth make him formally wicked nor hee that justifieth the wicked doth make him formally just which if a man should doe it would be no abomination to God as by he sentence of Salomon to justifie the wicked is but the contrary Iam. 5. 19 20. Daâ—… 12. 3 § VII And not unlike hereunto is the phrase of cleansing or polluting that is making cleane or uncleane attributed to the priest in the Law when hee was to judge of the Leprosie either in persons or things which he was said to make cleane or uncleane when he did but judge or pronounce them so to be And further this is to be noted as a thing usuall in the Hebrew tongue that the third Conjugation doth seeme to make that quality or thing which is implied in the signification of the first Conjugation not alwayes really and formally but many times in word onely or judgement sentence or conceit Thus Gadal signifieth to be great Higdil to make great or to magnifie which is in words to extoll in which sense we are said to magnifie God c. So Aman signifieth to be true Heemin to make true that is to beleeve as contrariwise not to beleeve a man is to make him a liar and yet a man may beleeve a lye which he cannot make true Thus Rashah signifieth to be wicked Hirshuah to make wicked by sentence and so Tsadaq signifieth to be just and Hitsdiq to make just namely by sentence And such is the ordinary use of divers Latine and English words of the like composition as to glorifie magnifie vilifie nullifie as Herod did Christ and so to justifie for as we are said to justifie God when wee ascribe righteousnesse unto him to justifie other men to justifie our selves So God is said to justifie men when he ascribeth or imputeth righteousnesse unto them CAP. II. The use of the Greeke Words signifying to justifie or justification never importing inherent justice § I. THE Greeke words which signifie to justifie and to be justified are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence are derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth justification and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which sometimes also signifieth justification And of these I am now to speake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are not in use among the authors of the Greeke tongue in the sense of justifying or making just 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Suidas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifieth two things to punish as being derived from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which sometimes signifieth punishment and to thinke right or meet sometimes both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doe signifie to condemne in the contrary sense to the sacred use of the words sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth onely to thinke to judge or suppose and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometime to bee righted in judgement From prophane authors therefore wee are not to setch the true meaning of the words but from the Septuagints who translating the Hebrew Text of the old Testament doe render the Hebrew words which I spake of importing justification by these Greeke words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And from them not only the sonne of Sirach and other Ecclesiasticall authors
writing in Greeke but also the holy Apostles and Evangelists have received the same And therefore these words are no otherwise to be understood than as the translations of the said Hebrew words signifying no other thing than what the Hebrew words import which as I have shewed doe never signifie to make or to be made righteous by inherent righteousnesse § II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used by the Apostle and by the Evangelist Luke sometimes as the translation of Tsiddiq in Piel as Luk. 7. 29. the people and Publicans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 justified God The Lawyer Luk. 10. 29. willing to justifie himselfe The Pharisies Luk. 16. 15. justified themselves before men And so is the word used sometimes by the sonne of Sirach as Ecclus. 10. 29. who will justifie him that sinneth against his owne soule Cap. 13. 26. alias 22. A rich man speaketh things not to be spoken and yet men justifie him Sometimes the Apostle useth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the translation of Hitsdiq as alwaies he doth in the question of justification and alwayes as the action of God as Rom. 3. 26. who justifieth him that beleeveth in Iesus how vers 24. gratis without any cause or desert of justification in the party without workes that is without respect of any righteousnesse inherent in him or performed by him vers 28. who justifieth the Circumcision and uncircumcision that is both Iewes and Gentiles not of workes or by inherent justice but by and through faith vers 30. who justifieth the ungodly that is the beleeving sinner that worketh not Rom. 4. 5. and therefore not by inherent righteousnesse how then by imputing righteousnesse without workes vers 6. who Rom. 8. 30. whom he calleth he justifieth namely by faith and whom he justifieth hee also glorifieth using the word in the same sense vers 33. who can lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect it is God that justifieth who shall condemne where most manifestly the word is used as a judiciall word opposed to accusing and condemning Neither can any colour of reason be alleaged why the word in these places should signifie contrary to the perpetuall use both of it selfe and of the Hâ—…brew word whereof it is a translation to make righteous by righteousnesse inherent § III. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used sometimes as the translation not of the passive verbe but as of the Neuter in Cal as I have shewed before out of the Greeke translation of the 〈◊〉 So Ecclus. 7. 5. bee not just before God not wise before the king or as it is usually translated doe not justifie thy selfe before God So also in the new Testament Rom. 3. 4. cited out of Psalm 51. 6. where the Hebrew word is not a passive but a neuter And so Apoc. 22. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him that is just be just still As the translation of the passive it is often used But as it never signifieth to be made just by inherent justice as I will shew when I come to answere the objections of the Papists so it alwayes signifieth either to be declared or pronounced just or to bee absolved and made jusâ—… by imputation In the former sense wisedome is said to bee justified of her Children Luk. 7. 37. who vers 29. justified God Christ who is God was manifested in the flesh justified in the Spirit 1 Tim. 3. 16. Thus by our words we shall bee justiâ—…ed not made just formally or by inherent righteousnesse but in the sense opposed to condemnation For as by thy words thou shalt bee justified so by thy words thou shalt be condemned Matth. 12. 37. Thus not the hearers alone but the doers of the Law shall bee justified that is pronounced just Rom. 2. 13. and in this sense the faithfull are justified by workes that is declared approved and knowne to bee just Iames 2. 21 23. 24 25. cum Genes 22. 12. â—…n the latter sense Ecclesiast 1. 28. alias 22. the famous man Chap. 31. 5. The lover of Gold Chap. 23. 14. alias 11. The rash swearer shall not bee justified that is as it is in the Commination of the third Commandement shall not bee held guitlesse but most plainely Chap. 26. the last verse the huckster shall not bee justified from sinne that is not absolved from sinne nor accepted as righteous So Act. 13. 38 39. where most plainely to be â—…ustified from sinne doth signifie to be absolved or freed from the guilt of sinne and is used promiscuously with remission of sinne And this sense oâ—… freedome from the guilt is â—…ometimes extended to signifie a totall freedome as Rom. 6. 7. He that is dead is justified that iâ—… as Chrysostome and Oâ—…umenius expound it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is freed from sinne As these places are plainely repugnant to the Popish sense so none of the rest where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used doth favour it For either they import remission of sinnes and acceptation as righteoâ—…s as Luk. 18. 14. The Publican who had humbled himselfe and craved pardon went home justified that is obtained pardon and was accepted as righteous rather than the Pharisee who had justified himselfe or distinguish betweene justification and sanctification as 1 Cor. 6. 11. or exclude justification by inherent righteousnesse as Rom. 3. 20. Rom. 4. 2. 1 Cor. 4. 4. Gal. 5. 4. Or imply imputation as where we are said to be justified either by his blood as Rom. 5. 9. Or by faith as Rom. 5. 1. Gal. 3. 24. Or by grace as Tiâ—… 3. 7 Or both exclude the one and imply the other as Rom. 3. 24. 28. Gal. 2. 16 17. 3. 11. § IV. There remaine these two words which I mentioned before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used onely in two placâ—…s Rom. 4. 25. 5. 18. In the former it is said that Christ was delivered to death for our sinnes and was raised againe for our justificâ—…tion to whom as it is in the precedent verse righteousnesse shall bee imputed if wee beleeve on him that raised up Iesus our Lord from the dead for as our Saviour by his death and obedience untâ—…ll death merited for us remission of sinnes and the right to eternall life so by the acts of Christ restored to life as namely by his resurrection his merits are effectually applied and imputed to our justification For if Christ had not risen againe wee had beene still in our sinnes 1 Cor. 15. 17. In the latter place justification is in direct termes opposed to condemnation For as by the offence or transgression of one viz. the first Adam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the guilt which is to be supplied out of the sixteenth verse came upon all men the offspring of the first Adam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unto condemnation so by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 of one whereby hee fulfilled the Law viz. the second Adam the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or free gift opposite to the guilt of damnation which is our title and right to the kingdome of heaven commeth to all men that belong to the second Adam unto justification of life § V. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is diversâ—…y used both in the plurall number and in the singular In the plurall it hath three significations for first it signifieth Iura the Lawes or Commandements of God either in generall and indefinitely as namely where no other word of the like signiâ—…cation is joyned with it as Psalm 119. 8 12. Rom. 2. 26. Or more particularly the precepts of the ceremoniall Law And this sense is most usuall when it is joyned with words signifying other lawes or precepts For the whole Law which is called mishmereth Iehovah the observation of the Lord that is all that the Lord requireth to bee observed is often distinguished into three parts Mitsvoth whiâ—…h the Septuagint translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Commandements of the morall Law Mishpatim which they translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the precepts of the judiciall Law Chuqqim which they translate sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the statutes and ordinances of the Ceremoniall Law Insomuch that the vulgar Latine for Chuqqim rendreth many times even where the 72. have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ceremonias as Gen. 26. 5. Deut. 4. 8 14 45. 5. 1 31. 6. 1. 17. 8. 11. 10. 13. 11. 1. c. The Apostle Rom. 9. 4. calleth the Morall Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Iudiciall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Ceremoniall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and accordingly the precepts of the Ceremoniall Law are called Heb. 9. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The ordinances of divine service and because they were but externall observations vers 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 carnall ordinances Secondly it signifieth the judgements of God Apoc. 15. 4. which by the vulgar Latine and others is translated Iudicia And as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes signifieth the just workes of God which are the acts of his justice so in the last place some expound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apoc. 19. 8. to bee the just workes of the Saints and as the author of the Homilies in Saint Augustine justa facta or justè facta as the Greeke writers sometimes use the word which the Papists will needs translate justifications meaning thereby just workes and hoping thereby to prove that men are justified by them which we deny not in that sense wherein Saint Iames saith we are justified that is declared and knowne to bee just by them But if justifications bee the true translation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that place then we are thereby to understand the merits of Christ by which the Saints are justified which are more fitly resembled by a garment than either inherent righteousnesse or righteous workes And is indeed called Matth. 22. 11 12. the wedding garment which garment is put on by a true faith by which the faithfull as they are exhorted Rom. 13. 14. put on Christ. Whereof Baptisme is a seale Gal. 5. 27. And this is that white garment which is to bee had from Christ to cover our nakednesse Apoc. 3. 18. Sometimes indeed the white robes doe signifie the glorious and happy estate promised to the faithfull as Apoc. 3. 4. 6. 11. 7. 9. which is purchased by the merits of Christ for which cause their robes are said to bee made white in the blood of the Lambe But here the holy Ghost expoundeth the fine linnen wherewith the Saints are arrayed to bee the justifications of the Saints which as I said are the merits and obedience of Christ put on by a true faith which being without us as garments use to be and yet being applyed unto us and put on by faith doe cover our nakednesse and therefore are more fitly resembled by fine linnen pure and shining than our owne righteousnesse which neither is without us as a garment nor yet pure but Christs righteousnesse imputed is both as a garment pure and perfect in it selfe and shineth forth by the light of good works Mat. 5. 16. § VI. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a verball derived from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to be just in which sense the precepts of God are said to bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psalm 19. 10. or as it signifieth to be justified In the former sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth that which is just either as the Law of God prescribing righteousnesse so the Law of nature written in the hearts of men is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 1. 32. or as the whole righteousnesse which in the Law is prescribed and so it is used Rom. 5. 18. For as by the transgression of one viz. the first Adam whereby the whole Law was violated guilt came upon all men that were in him unto condemnation so by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of one the second Adam whereby he fulfilled the whole Law the free gift which is our right and title to heaven came upon all men who are in him unto justification of life and Rom. 8. 4. God sent his Sonne the Law being impossible to be fulfilled by us in the likenesse of sinfull flesh that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that the Law requireth to justification might in our nature bee performed and fulfilled In the latter sense it is once onely used viz. Rom. 5. 16. in the same signification with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is justification vers 18. both of them being opposed to condemnation If therefore the words which the holy Ghost doth use to expresse the benefit of justification doe never signifie justification by inherent righteousnesse but the contrary as hath beene â—…hewed then that justification which the Papists teach is not that which is taught in the holy Scriptures but contrary to it § VII And the same is proved by these two reasons first because the Apostles when they expresse the benefit of justification in other termes they doe signifie the same not by such words as import infusion of righteousnesse but by such as plainely signifie either absolution from sinne which is the not imputing of sinne or imputation of righteousnesse Rom. 4. these phrases are used to signifie one and the same thing to justifie to impute righteousnesse without works vers 6. to remit sin to cover sins vers 7. not â—…o impute sin vers 8. to be justified and to be blessed and to be blessed is to have their sins remitted or covered vers 6. Rom. 5. 9 10. to bee justified by the blood of Christ and to be reconciled unto God by his death all one 2 Cor. 5. 19. to reconcile us unto himselfe not imputing our offences unto
us and vers 21. to make us the righteousnesse of God in Christ as he was made sinne for us Act. 26. 18. that by faith we may have remission of sinnes and inheritance that is that we may bee heires of the heavenly inheritance among them that are sanctified Ioh. 3. 18. He that beleeveth in Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not condemned that is as Paul speaketh Act. 13. 39. is justified but hee that beleeveth not him is condemned already That which Paul affirmeth Rom. 3. 21 22. now without the Law is manifested the righteousnesse of God being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the righteousnesse of God which is by the faith of Iesus Christ unto all and upon all that beleeâ—…e Saint Peter more plainely expresseth Act. 10. 43. unto him all the Prophets beare witnesse that every one which beleeveth in him receiveth remission of sinnes through his name § VIII Because the whole processe of the justification of a sinner is judiciall Rom. 8. 33 34. For the sinner summoning himselfe before the judgement seat of God as every one must doe that would bee justified his owne conscience being rightly informed by the paedagogie of the Law accuseth him the devill pleadeth against him the Law convicteth him and maketh him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 subject to the sentence of condemnation if God should judge him according to his Law But the sinner being instructed in the Gospell and the holy Ghost having opened his heart to beleeve appealeth from the sentence of the Law to the promise of the Gospell and from the tribunall of justice to the throne of Grace humbly intreating the Lord for Christs sake to pardon his sinnes and to accept of the merits and obedience of Christ as a full satisfaction for them Our Saviour sitting at the right hand of his Father maketh intercession and as an advocate pleadeth for him that forasmuch as he himselfe hath paid the debt and satisfied Gods justice for the beleeving sinner therefore the Lord not onely in mercy but also in justice is to remit his sinne and to accept of him in Christ. The Lord as a gracious and righteous judge imputing to the beleever the merits and righteousnesse of Christ absolveth him from his sinnes and accepteth of him as righteous in Christ that is to say justifieth him The beleeving sinner being thus justified in the Court of heaven is not at the first justified in the Court of his owne conscience that is to say is not yet perswaded and assured of his justification untill the holy Ghost by the ministery of the Gospell pronouncing remission of sinnes and justification to every one that beleeveth teacheth him to apply the promises of the Gospell unto himselfe which he sealeth unto him by the Sacraments The beleever being thus perswaded and in some measure assured of his justification giveth diligence by practising the duties of repentance and sanctification to confirme and increase that assurance more and more unto the end of his life labouring by all good meanes to make sure his election his vocation and his justification and so proceedeth from faith to faith The beleever having thus beene justified in this life both in the court of heaven and in the court of his owne conscience after this life namely at the day of judgement when our Saviour will judge of mens faiths according to the evidence of their works shall be justified that is pronounced happy and blessed These three degrees of Gods most gracious proceeding with the faithfull I have set downe not that there are so many degrees of justification so properly called For the first degree onely is that justification whereof wee treat which admitteth no degrees The other are degrees of the declaration thereof the former privately to the conscience of the faithfull the other publikely to the whole world CAP. III. The allegations of the Papists concerning the word justification the two first significations thereof assigned by Bellarmine § I. HAving thus explained the true sense and meaning of these words which in the holy Scriptures are used to signifie justification let us now examine the allegations of the Papists concerning the same Bellarmine therefore saith that the word justification meaning the Latine word is used foure wayes in the holy Scriptures meaning the vulgar Latine edition when as indeed neither the Latine edition it selfe nor the Latine word is in this question further to bee respected than as it is a true translation of the Hebrew in the Old Testament and of the Greeke in the New First saith he it is taken for the Law which teacheth righteousnesse and so is used Psal. 119. 8. I will keepe thy justifications and vers 12. teach me thy justifications c. This Bellarmine barely expoundeth without any further enforcing but Gregory Martin and our Rhemists urge it as a principall argument that the precepts of the Law are therefore called justifications because the observation of them doth justifie us and therefore exclaime against us that in our translations wee in stead of justifications doe read statutes or ordinances As though in translating the holy Scriptures we did professe to translate the Latine edition and not the Original Text. Now the word which in the old Testament is by the vulgar Latine interpreted justificationes and by the 72. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Chuqqim which when it is used alone signifieth undefinitely any of the precepts statutes or commandements of God but being used with other words of the like signification from which it is distinguish'd signifieth the statutes and ordinances of the Ceremoniall Law insomuch that the vulgar Latine in many places even where the Greek hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendreth Ceremonias a as I shewed before which though the Latines sometimes call justificationes yet by the confession of the Papists themselves do not justifie And the like is to be said of Luk. 1. 6. where Zachary and Elizabeth are said to have walked in all the Commandements and justifications of the Lord where the Greeke word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the translation of Chuqqim and signifieth the statutes of the ceremoniall Law as being distinguished from the Commandements of the morall Law but of the Greeke word I have spoken sufficiently before Chap. 2. § 5. If therefore the force of the Latine word justificationes bee urged I answer that the observation of the morall Law can justifie no man that is a sinner and much lesse the observation of the ceremoniall And the conclusion which they inferre from the force of the word that the precepts of the Law are called justifications because by the observation of them men are justified is directly contrary to that of the Apostle that by the workes of the Law no man living is or can be justified § II. But if they bee justifications whose are they For so they argue If good workes say they bee the
according to charity sanctified from the corruption of sinne and justified from the guilt of the same therefore they should take heed lest they should againe bee polluted with those sinnes from which they were sanctified or made guilty of those crimes from which they were justified § V. His second testimony is Rom. 8. 30. Whom he hath called them hee hath justified Answ. The Context doth shew that the word in the 30. verse is used in the same sense as verse 33. For having shewed that whom the Lord calleth hee doth justifie and whom he doth justifie them also hee doth glorifie from thence hee inferreth this consolation who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that justifieth as was said verse 30. who shall condemne c. Where justifying most plainely is used as a judiciall word signifying by sentence to justifie as Chrysostome and Oâ—…cumenius on this place doe note as opposed to accusing and condemning and cannot with any shew of reason be drawne to signifie contrary to the perpetuall use of the word infusion of righteousnesse But heere it may bee objected that in this place where the Apostle setteth downe the degrees of salvation sanctification is either included in justification or left our Answ. It is left out for the Apostle setting downe the chaine of the causes of salvation in the degrees whereof every former being the cause of the latter left out sanctification as being no cause of salvation but the way unto it and the cognizance of them that are saved And these degrees are so set downe Act. 26. 18. where the end of the ministery is expressed first Vocation that men should bee called and thereby brought to beleeve secondly Iustification that by faith they may receive remission of sinnes thirdly Glorification that by faith they may receive the inheritance among them that are sanctified where sanctification is mentioned onely as the cognizance of them that are saved Againe sanctification is left out because it is included in respect of the beginning thereof which is our conversion or regeneration in vocation and in respect of the consummation in glorification for as sanctification is gloria inchoata so glorification is gratia consummata § VI. His third testimony is Rom. 4. 5. to him that beleeveth in him who justifieth the ungodly Ans. he should have done well to have made up the sentence his faith is imputed for righteousnesse which place is so farre srom favouring the Popish conceit that it plainely confutes it first it is called the justification of the ungodly that is of one who is a sinner in himselfe for he that is a sinner in himselfe by inherent sinne and so remaineth cannot be justified by righteousnesse inherent secondly because to him that beleeveth in Christ faith relatively understood that is the righteousnesse of Christ apprehended by faith is imputed for righteousnesse thirdly because in this place justification is expressed by these termes not imputing sinne remitting or covering of sinne imputing righteousnesse without workes imputing faith for righteousnesse to him that worketh not that is that seeketh not to bee justified by his owne righteousnesse but beleeveth in him that justifieth a sinner CAP. IIII. The third and fourth signification of the word justification assigned by Bellarmine § I. THirdly saith Bellarmine justification is taken for increase of justice for even as he is said to be heated not only who of cold is mà de hot but also who of hot is made hotter even so he is said to be justified who not onely of a sinner is made just but also of just is made more just Ans. In this comparison of like there is a great unlikenesse for calefaction implyeth a reall mutation and a positive change in the subject from cold to hot but in justification the change is not reall but relative as before hath beene shewed Bellarmine therefore must prove that to justifie doth signifie to make righteous formally by righteousnesse inherent before he can prove that it signifieth the increase of inherent justice But if the former cannot be proved much lesse the latter But yet he bringeth three proofes such as they be § II. The first Ecclus. 18. 21. Ne verearis usque ad mortem justificari quâ—…niam merces Domini manet in aeternum feare not to be justified untill death for the reward of the Lord adideth for ever Answ. To omit that the booke is Apocryphall which ought not to bee alleaged in controversies of faith the testimonie it selfe is vilely depraved The words in the Originall are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is stay not untill death to be justified or as their own interlinear translation readeth it ne expectes usque ad mortem justificari wait not untill death to be justified where it is evident that he speaketh of justification in our first conversion which he would not have differred untill the time of death and not of the continuance or increase of it for then the sentence would beare a contrary and indeed an ungodly sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abide not or continue not to be justified or to be just untill thy death And the words untill death are not to be joyned with the last word justified but with the first stay not untill death And their translation of the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whether as Bellarmine here readeth ne verearis or as some editions have ne vetéris hath no affinity with the Originall But our interpretation as it agreeth with the words of the Text so it is confirmed by the context Vse Physike before thou bee sicke before judgement prepare thy selfe humble thy selfe before thou bee sicke and in the time of sinnes that is whiles thou mai'st yet sinne shew thy conversion let nothing hinder thee to pay thy vowes in due season and deferre not untill death to be justified or to become just § III. But this testimony Bellarmine urgeth againe in another place shewing that the place is to bee understood of continuing and proceeding in justice and the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are as much as cease not And this he would prove by that which goeth before be not hindred to pray alwayes where the wise man admonisheth us to increase our justice by continuall prayer and also by that which immediately followeth because the reward of the Lord endureth for ever for reward agreeth not to the first justification of the wicked but indulgence Answ. This interpretation of Bellarmine may then be admitted when it shal be proved first that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to cease secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to pray thirdly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alwaies fourthly that those words but the reward of the Lord endureth for ever are found in the Originall Text. But if Bellarmine knew that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth stay not or waite not and not cease not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to render the vow and not to pray 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
in due season and without delay and not alwayes and that the clause concerning the reward of the Lord is not in the Greeke Text then can it not be denied but that Bellarmine endevoured against his owne conscience to father his errour upon the Sonne of Sirach howbeit the reason which he rendreth is Pharisaicall For unto the first justification saith he of sinners not reward but indulgence agreeth as though there were any reward of our righteousnesse which alwayes in this life is impure and imperfect Esai 64. 6. but by indulgence If thou Lord should'st marke what is amisse O Lord who shall stand but with thee there is mercy or indulgence that thou maist be feared Psal. 130. 3 4. To them that love God and keepe his Commandements the Lord sheweth mercy Exod. 20.6 To thee Lord mercie for thou reward'st a man meaning the godly man according to his works Psalm 62. 12. which plainely sheweth that the reward of good workes is to be ascribed to Gods mercy and indulgence and not to our defect for it is great mercy that hee pardoneth the imperfection and iniquity of our good workes greater that he accepteth of them in Christ but greatest that hee graciously rewardeth them and who knoweth not that eternall life it selfe which is the reward that endureth for ever is the free and undeserved gift of God not rendred to our merits but given of his free grace § IV. His second testimony is Iam. 2.24 You see then that a man is justified by workes and not by faith onely Answ. Of this place wee are hereafter to treat more fully Now we are onely to cleare the signification of the word which in this place most evidently signifieth not to bee justified before God or made just but to bee approved or declared just In which sense the Schoolemen themselves doe teach that good workes doe justifie declarativè But here it may be objected that Saint Iames in this place speaketh of that justification whereunto faith concurreth with good workes and good workes with faith But to declare a man to bee justified faith being an inward and hidden grace of the heart hath no use or efficacy but it selfe is to be declared and manifested by workes as it is verse 18. Answ. The Apostle doth not speake of justifying faith it selfe but of the profession thereof or of saith professed onely as appeareth by the fourteenth verse where the question is propounded What doth it profit my brethren if a man shall say hee hath faith and have not workes can that faith which is in profession onely save him Now to the justification of a man before men and declaration of him to bee a man justified before God two things are requisite the profession of the true faith and a godly conversation answerable to that profession For neither good workss declare a man to bee justified if they bee not joyned with the profession of the true faith neither doth the profession of faith justifie a man before men if his faith cannot bee demonstrated by good workes And in this sense it is said that a man is justified that is knowne to bee just by workes and not by faith onely § V. His third testimony is Apoc. 22.11 Qui justus est justificetur adhuc hee that is just let him bee justified still Answ. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place doth not signifie to bee justified but to be just as the word is often used not onely in the translation of the Septuagints but also in the new Testament as I have shewed before as being the translation not of the passive but of tsadaq the verbe neuter in Cal which signifieth not to bee justified but to bee just And this exposition is confirmed first by the words going before He that doth wrong let him doe wrong still hee that is filthy let him bee filthy still and so hee that is just let him bee just still Secondly by the authority of the Complutensis editio of the Kings Bible of Andraeas Caesariensis and of Arethas in Apoc. who instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let him worke righteousnesse of some Latine editions of the vulgar translation which instead of justificetur read justitiam faciat and lastly of Cyprian who rendreth the place thus justus adhuc justiora faciat This place therefore doth not speake of the encrease of our justification before God which cannot bee encreased and much lesse are wee exhorted unto it for as soone as a man is justified hee standeth righteous before God in the most perfect righteousnesse of CHRIST which admitteth no encrease but of perseverance in righteousnesse Moreover the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 still doth not signifie encrease but continuance § VI. And these were Bellarmine his three first significations of the word justification whereof not any one can bee proved out of the word of God Fourthly saith he It is taken for the declaration of justice after a judiciall manner in which sense hee â—…s said to be justified who when he had beene by the accuser made guilty of some iniquity is by the sentence of the Iudge declared iust and absolved And to this purpose hee alleageth not onely Prov. 17. 15. hee that justifieth the wicked and condemneth the just c. And Esay 5. 23. But which are not so pertinent Luk. 7. 35. and Luk. 10. 29. Now saith hee of the foure acceptions of the word our adversaries teach this fourth to be most proper As for the â—…econd and the third which ariseth from the second they say it is improper and not to bee found in any approved Authors But of this matter saith hee wee will discourse Libro 2. Cap. 3. whether wee will follow him In the meane time let it bee observed that the Papists who cannot approve their owne acceptions of the word by any one place of Scripture doe neverthelesse acknowledge that use of the word which we doe maintaine But whereas hee doth insinuate that we doe therefore reject the second and third significations because the word is not so used in approved Authors I answer if hee speake of the Latine word as hee doth that it is not used of the Authors of the Latine tongue at all and in the Latine edition of the Scriptures and from thence in other Ecclesiasticall writers it is used as the translation of the Hebrew and the Greeke and must accordingly bee understood And if of the Greeke that it is not used indeed of the Authors of the Greeke tongue in the Popish sense But that is not the reason why wee reject those senses but because they are not to bee found in the holy Scriptures CAP. V. Bellarmines discourse concerning the signification of the word justification de Iustif. lib. 2. cap. 3. examined § I. BVT let us examine Bellarmines disputation concerning the signification of the word Lib. 2. Cap. 3. where alleaging 〈◊〉 5. 17 18 19. to prove
a propitiation for our sinnes 1 Ioh. 2. 2. and that Christ who was just and knew no sinne was made sinne for us that wee might bee the righteousnesse of God in him as the Apostle speaketh 2 Cor. 5. 21. and Esai 53. 5 6 6. § X. The third word is my servant which signifieth that Christ did serve his Father in the worke of justification and consequently did justifie men not by judging but by ministring as himselfe saith Matth. 20. 28. and is therefore called the Minister of Circumcision that is of the Iewes The fourth word and he shall beare their iniquities which signifieth the manner how Christ by ministring doth justifie that is by bearing the burden of our sinnes upon his shoulders that is by suffering the punishment due for our sinnes Answ. The thing which hee indevoureth to prove viz. that Christ as he performed the office of Mediation in the dayes of his flesh did not justifie us aâ—…ter the manner of a Iudge is true But his reasons are not sufficient Not the former for he might bee Gods Minister or servant as all Kings or Iudges are and yet our Iudge Not the second for although he were our Priest to offer himselfe for us and by his obedience and sufferings to justifie us yet is he also our King and our Iudge who by his sentence will justifie us at the last day But although Christ did not justifie us after the manner of a Iudge yet it followeth not either that the word doth signifie infusion of justice to which purpose Andradius alleaged this place or that it is not a judiciall word For it is a judicial word as it is attributed not only to Iudges but also to sureties and advocates Christ as our Advocate justifieth by pleading for us as asurety by bearing the punishment judicially imposed upon us And whereas Bellarmine would prove out of 1 Pet. 2. 24. that inherent righteousnesse is an effect of Christs satisfaction or bearing our iniquities he proveth nothing but what we teach viz. that the fruits and end of our justification and redemption by Christ is our sanctification Luk. 1. 74 75. Rom. 6. 22. Tit. 2. 14. And consequently that our sanctification or inherent righteousnesse being the fruit and effect of our justification cannot bee the cause thereof no more than it is the cause of redemption For By what righteousnesse wee are redeemed by the same wee are justified for redemption and justification in substance differ not Rom. 4. 6. 7. 3. 24. 25. Col. 1. 14. Eph. 1. 7. By the righteousnesse of Christ wee are redeemed which is out of us in him and not by righteousnesse inherent Therefore By that righteousnesse of Christ which is out of us in him wee are justified and not by righteousnesse inherent His third place is Apoc. 22. 11. which I have fully answered before and is here impertinently recited to prove the signification of the Hebrew word being not sufficient to cleare the Greeke Seeing their owne best editions in stead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as I have shewed before § II. The third and fourth reason which Bellarmine alleageth out of Calvin and Chemnitius and answereth them together are concerning the signification and composition of the Latine word justificare which indeed are not used as arguments to prove the true signification of the word in this controversie but as just exceptions against the arguments of the Papists who rely too much upon the signification and composition of the Latine word wherein they were justly reprooved by Chemnitius first because the controversie being what is the use and signification of the word in the Scriptures it is not materiall what the Latine word doth signifie in other authors but what is the signification of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament and of the Greeke in the New whereof the Latine is meerely a Translation And therefore the Latine if it be a right Translation must in this controversie bee understood to signifie the selfe same thing with the Hebrew and the Greeke the use and signification whereof in the Scriptures is judiciall and is neuer used in the Popish sense wherefore though the use of the word in other authors did favour the Popish conceipt yet would it not disadvantage us secondly though the Latine words do signific to make just which is all that can be enforced from the signification and composition thereof and be so expounded by Augustine whom Bellarmine to that purpose alleageth yet this maketh nothing against us Not onely because Bellarmine hath confessed men may be made just either inwardly by obtaining of righteousnesse inherent or outwardly after a judiciall manner but also because we freely professe that whom God doth justifie he maketh righteous by imputation of Christs righteousnesse It is true indeed that some of our Divines deny the word to signifie making righteous but their deniall is to be understood according to the meaning of the Papists viz. by infusion thirdly the Latine word justificare and so the English as in the translation of the Scriptures it hath alwayes the judiciall signification and never signifieth to endue with righteousnesse inherent no more than the Hebrew and the Greeke whereof it is a translation so oftentimes in the Fathers and many times in the Popish writers and alwayes almost in the common use of speech it signifieth to cleare from guilt to free from imputation of fault to approve to declare or pronounce just Or if at any time it be used in the sense of induing with righteousnesse inherent it is contrary to the use of the Scriptures which in the doctrine of justification is to be retained § XII Yea but the Fathers interpret justifying to be making righteous whom to refuse in an ecclesiasticall question and to appeale to the judgement of the Latine authors as Tully and Terence is a great importunity saith Bellarmine especially seeing the Apostle hath taught that to be justified is to be constituted or made just according to the composition of the word Answ. That which is said of the Authors of the Latine tongue is a meere calumniation for in them the word is not used at all The interpretation of the Fathers according to the doctrine of Saint Paul wee approve acknowledging that whom God doth justifie hee maketh them just by imputation of Christs righteousnesse Yea but say they the Fathers meane by inherent justice Answ. Though some of the Latine Fathers who were ignorant of the Hebrew and not skilfull in the Greeke sometimes under the terme of justification include the benefit also of sanctification being led thereunto by the notation of the Latine word yet sometimes they exclude it as first when they place justification in remission of sinnes as many times they doe secondly when according to the Scriptures they oppose it to condemnation thirdly and especially when with one consent they plainely teach that we are justified by faith alone as hereafter shall be shewed
favour of God in Christ which is out of us in him concurring to our justification neither as the matter nor forme but as the efficient cause thereof Against which assertion the accursed Councell of Trent hath denounced Anathema If any man shall say that the grace by which we are justified is onely the favour of God let him be accursed But first I will produce our proofes and then answere their objections CAP. II. Our proofes that by the Grace of God by which we are justified is meant the gracious favour of God in Christ. § I. THe Papists for all their cursing are not able to produce any one pregnant testimony to prove that the grace whereby wee are justified is inherent in us But that Grace doth signifie that favour of God wee are able out of the New Testament to alleage above fifty testimonies whereof some shall hereafter be cited And as for the Old Testament it is evident that the Hebrew words which signifie the grace of God and are to be translated by the word grace doe alwaies signifie favour and never grace inherent As if I have found grace in thy sight Gen. 18. 3. Ex. 33. 13. 17. God gave Ioseph grace in the sight of the keeper Gen. 39. 21. and the people of Israel grace in the sight of the Egyptians Exod. 3. 21. In which sense the blessed Virgin is said to have found grace with God Luk. 1. 30. and our Saviour to have increased in grace with God and man Luk. 2. 52. § II. Secondly that grace whereby the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gratos fecit made us gracious or graciously accepted us in his beloved is gratia gratum faciens that is the justifying and saving grace By the gracions love and favour of God in Christ which is out of us in him the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath made us gratious or gratiously accepted us in his beloved and not by any gift of grace inherent in us Therefore the gratious love and favour of God in Christ is gratia gratum faciens that is the justifying and saving grace and not any gift of grace inherent in us The proposition is in it solfe evident The assumption is proved out of Eph. 1. Blessed be God who hath blessed us in Christ with all spirituall blessings according as he hath elected us in him before the foundation of the world having predestinated us unto the adoption of children to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein or whereby 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est gratos fecit hee hath made us accepted in his beloved in whom wee have redemption through his blood even forgivenesse of sinnes according to the riches of his grace verse 3 4 5 6. 7. For by or in that grace to the glorious praise whereof the Lord elected us before the foundation of the world and according to the riches whereof wee are redeemed by Christ the Lord hath gratiously accepted us in his beloved But it were very absurd to say that God hath elected us to the praise of the glory of our Charity or that wee are redeemed according to the riches of our charity But we were elected to the praise of the glory of his grace that is of his gracious love and bounty in Christ which grace was given unto us in Christ before all secular times and according to the riches of this grace he hath redeemed us by Christ. Wherefore gratia gratum faciens the grace by which wee are justified is not any gift of grace inherent in us but the eternall grace and favour of God vouchsafed unto us in Christ before the foundation of the world and before all secular times § III. In respect of this grace whereby the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 graciously accepted the blessed Virgin she is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luk. 1. 28. graciously accepted or graced or as it is expounded verse 30. that she had found grace and favour with God And so may all the elect and faithfull children of God be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in many places of the Old Testament they are in the very same sense called chasidim passively understood Especially where that word is read with the Affix or Pronoune betokening God to signifie his chasidim the favorites of God and thus it is read with the Affix of thâ—… first Person when God is the speaker calling them Chasidai my favourits or of the second whenthe speech is directed unto God and then they are called in the plurall Chasideica thy favorits Psal. 52. 9. 79. 2. 132. 9. 145. 10. and in the singular Chasideca thy favourite Deut. 33. 8. Psal. 16. 10. 89. 19. or of the third person in the singular Chasido his favourite or Chasidso Psal. 4. 3. and in the plurall Chasidain his favourites Psal. 31. 24. 85. 9. 97. 10. 116. 15. 149. 9. that is as not onely Tremellius and Iunius but also Vatablus interpret it quos benignitate prosequitur those whom God doth specially favour those who have found grace with God which commonly are translated Saints and so are all the faithfull usually called even in the New Testament as the translation of the Hebrew chasidim sanctity not being the cause of Gods favour which is eternall but the proper badge and cognizance of those who are the favorites of God by which they are knowne And further out of the same place Eph. 1. 6. where it is said that by this grace hee hath made us gracious in his beloved it is plainely proved that by it is meant the gracious favour of God towards us in Christ in which respect it is also called the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ. Act. 15. 11. So Rom. 16. 20. 1 Cor. 16. 23. 2 Cor. 13. 14. Gal. 1. 6. 6. 18. Phi. 4. 23. 1 Thess. 5. 28. 2 Thess. 3. 18. Philem. 25. Apoc. 22. 21. and to the same effect it is called the love of Christ Rom. 8. 35. that is as it is expressed vers 39. the love of God which is in Christ. Which places cannot without absurdity bee understood of that grace of God or of that love of God which is in us that is to say of our love of God § IV. Thirdly by what grace of God wee are elected called redeemed reconciled adopted saved by the same wee are justified But by the gracious favour of God by which hee hath gratiously accepted of us in his beloved and not by any thing in us we were elected according to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace Eph. 1. 5 6 for which cause our election unto life is called the election of grace Rom. 11. 5. By grace wee are effectually called according to his purpose For God hath called us with an holy calling not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose of grace which grace was given us in Christ Iesus
VII Yea but it is a gift given by Christ. It is very true for in and by Christ all grace and favour is vouchsafed unto us for in him hee hath graciously accepted us And therefore as it is called the grace of God so in many places it is called the grace of Christ not onely because in and by him it is granted to us but also because he doth bestow it But doth it hereof follow that this grace is inherent what spirituall favour or grace tending to salvation hath God vouchsafed unto us otherwise than in and by Christ In him he vouchsafed us grace in generall and in particular the grace of election for in him wee were chosen Ephes. 1. 4. The grace of vocation and salvation given us in Christ. 2 Tim. 1. 9. the grace of adoption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Iesus Christ Ephes. 1. 5. The grace of reconciliation in and by Christ Rom. 5. 1. 11. 2 Cor. 5. 19. Col. 1. 20. The grace of redemption by Christ Rom. 3. 24. Ephes. 1. 7. Col. 1. 14. The grace of justification by Christ Rom. 5. 9. 17 18 19. And how is this proved which no man doubteth of that grace is given by Christ because it is said Ioh. 1. 17. Gratia veritas per Iesum Christum facta est grace and verity was made by Iâ—…sus Christ where leaving his hold that it is given he urgeth as if he had forgot himselfe the phrase facta est is made for saith he it is not well said that the favour and benevolence of God is made § VIII Answ. The word in the Originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which doth not alwayes signifie was made but many times is expressed by the Verbe substantive fuit or extitit as Mark. 1. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 11. 26. 26. 6. Iohn 1. 6. sometimes by the Verbe became as Ioh. 1. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word became flesh so Mark. 1. 17. 1 Cor. 9. 20. 13. 1. and sometimes by the Verbe came and that in the sense either of happening Rom. 11. 25. 2 Tim. 3. 11. or of growing Matth. 21. 19. 1 Tim. 6. 4. or of being present Ioh. 6 21. 25. Act. 21. 17. 35. 27. 7. Now the sense of the word varying it is to be fitted to the place wherein it is used but the sense that grace and truth was made by Christ fitteth not But either we are to say extitit it was by Christ as Valla and sometimes Beza translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or that it came by him as our translation readeth or that it was exhibited or given by Christ as the law both morall shewing sinne and denouncing the curse opposed to grace and also ceremoniall consisting of shadowes and types opposed to truth was given by Moses And thus Bellarmine himselfe understood this place for to prove that grace was given by Christ he alleaged this text But though grace and truth were given by Christ doth it follow that therefore grace doth signifie grace inherent or if it did that that inherent grace is justifying grace Howbeit the true meaning of the word is either according to the proper signification which is most usuall especially when these two Chased and Emeth grace and truth goe together or because grace and truth given by Christ are opposed to the Law given by Moses by grace and truth wee may understand the doctrine of grace and truth For as the doctrine of grace that is to say the Gospell which is the word of grace and the Gospell of Gods grace especially when it is opposed to the Law is termed grace Rom. 6. 14 15. Gal. 5. 4. Ephes. 3. 2. 1 Pet. 5. 12. so also the doctrine of salvation by Christ which is the word of truth Ephes. 1. 13. 2 Tim. 2. 15. Iam. 1. 18. the truth of the Gospell Gal. 2. 5. 14. or the word of the truth of the Gospell Col. 1. 5. is oftentimes called the truth Iohn 5. 33. and in many other places as hereafter shall be shewed § IX Fourthly he alleageth that this grace is given by measure from Christ himselfe Ephes. 4. 7. To every one of us grace is given according to the measure of the donation of Christ. But the favour of God saith hee is not given by measure nor by Christ. Answ. This place is not understood of justifying grace which is the gracious favour of God in Christ which is out of us in him but of the severall gifts of grace in us which by a Metonymy are called graces but properly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Oecumenius upon that place hath well observed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to every one is given grace that is a gift of grace whether they bee the graces of sanctification which are the proper fruits of saving grace or those which by the Schoolemen are called gratiae gratis datae of which the Apostle seemeth to speake in that place as hee explaineth himselfe in the verses following vers 8. 11 12. In which sense the Apostle Peter useth the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 4. 10. As every one hath received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a gift of grace even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God Of these gifts of grace it is true which Bellarmine saith that they are given by Christ and that they are given by measure But will hee from thence prove that what grace is either given by Christ or in measure is not Gods favour I had thought that the saving grace of God according to his last allegation out of Ioh. 1. 17. had beene given by Christ and that it is from the Father through the Sonne by the Holy Ghost And therefore as it is called the grace of God who is the God of all grace 1 Pet. 5. 10. so also the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the grace of the holy Spirit who is the Spirit of grace Heb. 10. 29. And I had also thought that the favour of God though not that which justifieth is in divers degrees vouchsafed unto his creatures God loveth and favoureth all his creatures hee is good to all and his mercies aâ—… over all his workes Psal. 145. 9. giving all things to all Act. 17. 25. yet among the bodily creatures hee respecteth and favoureth men chiefely 1 Cor. 9. 9. Psal. 8. 4. Mat. 6. 26. 30. Prov. 8. 31. for which cause 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 love of mankind is attributed to him Among men he favoureth the faithfull more than the rest 1 Tim. 4. 10. who are therefore called the favourites of God as I have shewed before Among them the Lord especially favoureth Ministers and Magistrates Psal. 105. 15. who are also called the favourits of God not onely in respect of justifying grace which is â—…quall in all to whom it is vouchsafed but also in respect of their functions
able to fulfill the Law of God CAP. VI. Our fiftâ—… argument containing foure branches By that wâ—…e are justified by which we are absolved redeemed reconciled and for which wee shall be saved § I. THe fifth argument By what righteousnesse wee are justified by it wee are absolved from our sinnes redeemed from our iniquities reconciled unto God and for it we shall bee saved And againe by what righteousnesse wee are absolved redeemed reconciled and for which wee shall be saved by it we are justified By that righteousnesse which is inherent in our selves wee are not absolved from our sinnes nor redeemed from our iniquities nor reconciled unto God nor for it shall bee saved But by the righteousnesse of Christ which is out of us in him wee are absolved from our sinnes redeemed from our iniquities c. Therefore we are not justified by that righteousnesse which is inherent in our selves but by that righteousnesse which is out of us in Christ. The proposition in both the parts thereof containeth foure branches The first by what righteousnesse we are justified wee are by it absolved from our sinnes and a converso by what righteousnesse we are absolved from our sinnes by that we are justified This is proved from the signification of the word justifie as being a judiciall word opposed to condemnation which I have at large proved before For this doth invincibly demonstrate that by what wee are justified by that wee are acquitted and absolved and by what wee are absolved by that we are justified But more specially it may bee proved out of Act. 13. 38 39. where as I have shewed before not onely the word justification and remission of sinnes are promiscuously used but the phrase also of being justified from sinne signifieth plainely to be absolved from sinne where also the maine question itselfe is concluded Bee it knowne unto you saith S. Paul to his brethren the Iewes who feared God that through Iesus Christ is preached unto you forgivenesse of sinnes And by him all that beleeve are justified from all those things meaning sinnes from which yee could not be justified by the Law of Moses From our sinnes therefore we are justified or absolved by the righteousnesse of Christ apprehended by faith from which we could out be acquitted by any obedience which we could performe to the Law § II. But of this place we are further to speake in defence of Calvins allegation thereof against Bellarmines cavils Calvin prooving that God doth justifie us when hee absolveth us from our sinnes and accepteth of us in Christ alleageth this place Through this man that is Christ is preached unto you remission of sinnes and by him all that beleeve are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses You see saith Calvin that justification is here set after remission of sinnes by way of interpretation r you see plainely that it is taken for absolution you see that it is denied to the workes of the Law you see it is meerely the benefit of Christ you see that it is received by faith and finally you see that there is a satisfaction interposed where hee saith that through Christ wee are justified from our sinnes Bellarmine pretending to answere this argument relateth it thus as if Calvin had said First By this man that is by Christ we are justified and not by any vertues or qualities of ours Secondly is preached that signifyeth that the very preaching or declaring of the promise if it bee apprehended by faith doth justifie for so the Apostle presently expoundeth himselfe by him every one that beleeveth is justified Thirdly forgivenesse of sinnes that signifieth that justification consisteth in nothing else but in remission of sinnes wherefore tâ—…e inward renovation is not the other part of justication for that renovation is not so much justificaâ—…ion as an effect thereof And lastly these words from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses doe signifie that justification doth not consist in the observation of the Law but onely as hath beene said in remission of sinnes for or through the righteousnesse of Christ imputed Thus as you see hee maketh Calvin speake what hee pleaseth But because the things which he inforceth in Calvins name upon this place be for the most part our assertions it shall not bee amisse to weigh the answeres which he maketh to them And first where it is said per hunc by this man hee saith this doth not exclude our vertues or qualities infused of God For by Christ wee are justified as the efficient which is signified by the preposition per by vertues and qualities infused as the formall cause Now if Christ or his righteousnesse bee the efficient cause then it cannot be the formall cause for the forme is the effect of the efficient nor can the same thing be the cause and effect of the same thing Neither may they say as they are wont that this is a mystery of faith that reason cannot attaine unto For mysteries though they surmount reason yet are notrepugnant to reason Neither ought we to faine mysteries as the Papists use to doe where the Scriptures have an easie and perspicuous meaning Râ—…ply This were a good caveat to the papists As for us we faineno such mysteries neither doe we say that Christ or his righteousnesse is both the efficient and formall cause of our justification But this we say that the righteousnesse of Christ is both the matter of our justification and also the merit both of our justification and salvation and that Christ himselfe as he is Mediatour is the secondary efficient of our justification affording unto it both the matter thereof and the merit § IV. That word is preached doth not signifie saith hee that by the onely preaching of Scriptures apprehended by faith men are justified For then Peter would not have said Act. 2. 38. Doe peâ—…ance and bee every one of you baptized for remission of sinnes But it signifieth that remission of sinnes is preached to all that beleeve in Christ as they ought that is in doing whatsoever he commaâ—…deth to be done according to that Mat. 28. 20. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you In this sence every one that bâ—…leeveth is justified that is whosoever beleeveth as he ought namely by fulfilling all things which faith doth declare ought to be fulfilled For not he that beleeveth a Physician though he be never so skilfull and one that infallibly curâ—…th is healed unlesse he receive such medicines as hee doth appoint Reply Wee doe not say that preaching alone apprehended by faith doth justifie but wee say that a true and a lively faith which is begotten by the preaching of the Word doth justifie a man before God and that wicked is that aphorisine collected out of Bellarmine that by the preaching of the Word of God faith is stirred up and so sinnes are forgiven is a
by some inherent gift The proposition which no man denieth he laboreth to prove by three arguments which he might very well have spared but that he would have the world to thinke that we deny sanctification to be inherent The assumption which do we deny he proveth by his own authority alleaging that in the fifth and the sixth verses The Apostle describeth justification which indeed he doth not to be regeneration and renâ—…vation wroughâ—… in us out of the bounty of God by the laver of Baptisme and effusion of the holy Ghost This we deny first because the word justifie never in the whole Scriptures is used in that sense secondly here the Apostle in plaine termes saith that we are justified and saved not by works of righteousnesse whereby is excluded all justice inherent but by Gods grace How then doth he prove it because in these words vers 7 that being justified by his grace wee might bee heires in hope of eternall life the Apostle rendreth a reason why God by the laver and by the Holy Ghost did regenerate and renew us and saith the cause was that being justified that is saith he that being by that regeneration and renovation justified we might deserve to be made heires of the kingdome and of life everlasting Answ. This glosse maketh the Apostle not like himselfe but like a popish merit-monger corrupteth the text which indeed doth paralell that 1 Cor. 6. 11. shewing how men converted from Gentilisme to Christianity shuld be exhorted to the performance of Christian duties For howsoever whiles they were Gentiles they were addicted to many vices and sinnes yet after they were called which the Apostle expresseth thus after that the bounty and humanity of God was manifested viz. by the preaching of the Gospel God not out of any desert of theirs but out of his meere mercy saved them by Baptisme as Saint Peter also speaketh that is justified them for that is the salvation we have here to bee intitled to salvation or saved in hope that being justified by his grace that is as he said before by his undeserved mercy they should be made heires according to hope of eternall life that is they might be saved in hope Of this sentence therefore stripped of its amplifications as it were its garments the naked substance is this But after we were called God by Baptisme justified us that being justified by his grace we might be saved in hope The amplifications which are added are to set forth and describe Baptisme unto us which as hee had noted to be the seale of that righteousnesse which is by faith when he saith that God justified or saved us by it so he calleth it the laver of regeneration and of the renovation wrought by the Spirit which God hath plentifully bestowed upon us So that these words are not a description of justification as Bellarmine dreameth waking but of Baptisme And they are added according to the purpose of the Apostle in this place as arguments to move men to Christian duties Why Because Baptisme as it was a seale unto them of their justification so also a Sacrament of their regeneration and renovation of the Spirit which Spirit God hath poured forth plentifully upon the faithfull which he speaketh to this end that the faithfull which are Baptized should make this use of their Baptisme not onely as of a seale to assure them of their justification and salvation but also to be a Sacrament token memoriall of their regeneration and renovation wrought by the Spirit plentifully poured upon them To which purpose the Apostle telleth the Romans that so many as were baptized into Christ were baptized into the similitude of Christs death and resurrection whereupon the Apostle inferreth in the next words vers 8. this is a faithfull saying and these things I will thou shouldest affirme and confirme that they which have beleeved in God ought to bee carefull precedents of good workes The Aposâ—…le therefore doth not say as Bellarmine maketh him speake that we are justified or saved or made heires of salvation by regeneration or renovation and much lesse that thereby we merit our inheritance but that God hath justified or saved us Sacramentally by Baptisme which as it is the seale of our justification and salvation so it is also the laver of regeneration and renovation wrought by the Spirit that being justified by his grace we might according to hope bee made heires of eternall life For howsoever we are neither justified nor saved nor made heires of eternall life by our Sanctification yet Sanctification is both the way wherein from our justification wee are to walke unto glorification For God hath chosen us to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit 2 Thes. 2. 13. and therefore sanctification as it is a necessary consequent of our justification so it is a necessary fore-runner of glorification a necessary marke and cognizance of all that are justified and to be saved And therefore ouâ—… Saviour saith that by faith in him wee receive remission of sinnes and inheritance among them that are sanctified and so the Apostle also Act. 20. 32. § IX His fifth testimony is Heb. 11. and some other places of the Scripture which doe give testimony to some men that they were truly and perfectly just and that not by an imputative justice but inherent his reason is because the Scriptures would not call them absolutely just if they were not absolutely just Answ. To omit that it is one thing to be absolutely called just and another to be just absolutely and perfectly I answere that the faithfull who are commended in the Scriptures for righteous were righteous by a twofold justice both imputative and inherent The former being the righteousnesse of justification the latter of sanctification the former absolute and perfect the latter inchoated and unperfect By the former they were justified before God in respect of the latter though they were also called just yet they were not justified thereby that is they were neither absolved thereby from their sinnes past nor intitled to the kingdome of heaven as may appeare by all those Arguments which before I produced against justification by inherent righteousnesse As for those examples which hee alleageth out of Heb. 11. which is the Chapter of saith namely of Abel vers 4. and Noah vers 7. c. it is evident that they were justified by the righteousnesse which is of faith as is expresly said of Noah vers 7. that is by the righteousnesse of Christ apprehended by faith and imputed to them that beleeve for the righteousnefse which is of faith is imputative Rom. 4. 5. And when it is said that without faith they could not possibly have pleased God it is plainely intimated that by faith they pleased God and that they being besore justified by faith brought forth the fruits of faith acceptable unto God by which their faith was approved But as they were just by imputation that
his flesh is communicated unto us by imputation and accepted of God in our behalfe as if we had performed the same in our own persons To conclude therefore it is not the image of Christs righteousnesse and obedience by which we are justified But we are justified by the righteousnesse and obedience of Christ it selfe § XVII His seventh Allegation of Rom. 6. 4. 6. is scarce worth the answering wherein hee proveth which no man denieth that the godly doe truly and not putativè dye unto sinne and rise unto righteousnesse even as Christ whose death and resurrection is represented in Baptisme did truly dye and rise againe For this dying unto sinne and rising unto righteousnesse are the two parts of our sanctification which never any denied to bee inherent But that justification and sanctification are not to bee confounded I have before proved at large If hee would have said any thing to the purpose he should have said any thing to the purpose hee should have proved that our justification consisteth in our mortification and vivification and then might he well have concluded that we are not justified by imputation but by inherent righteousnesse But I cannot sufficiently wonder at the blind malice of these men who either would perswade themselves or would goe about to perswade others that we hold the righteousnesse of sanctification and the parts thereof which we acknowledge to be wrought in us by the holy Spirit not to bee inherent but imputative As for these words vers 7. he that is dead is justified from sinne the meaning is as I have shewed before that he is freed from sinne as our translation readeth and as Chrysostome and Oecumenius expound it the speciall sense of freeing from guilt opposed to condemnation which is the proper sense of the word Act. 13. 38 39. extended to the generall signification of freedome he that is dead is freed from committing of sinne according to that place of Peter 1 Epist. 4. 1. which Bellarmine paralelleth with this he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sinne § XVIII In his eighth allegation hee patcheth divers places of Scripture together as it were invita Minerva out of which nothing can be concluded but that the Papists have not one found Argument to prove their justification by inherent righteousnesse The places which he patcheth together are these Rom. 8. 15. That wee now by Christ have received the Spirit of Adoption of the sonnes of God quoad animam saith he in respect of the Soule the which as it is there said viz. vers 10. liveth by reason of justification although the body be dead that is be mortall as yet by reason of sinne But saith he â—… little after viz. vers 23. he addeth that wee having the first fruits of the Spirit doe groane within our selves expecting the adoption of the sonnes of God even the redemption of our body For as the same Apostle saith Phil. 3. 20. 21. wee expect our Saviour who shall reforme the body of our humility configured to the body of his glory But the adoption of sonnes which wee expect in the redemption of the body shall be most true and inherent in the body it selfe that is to say immortality and impossibility not putative but true Therefore the adoption which now we have in the spirit by justification must also be true not putative otherwise as we expect the redemption of the body so also wee should expect the redemption of the soule Answ. See what poore shifts so learned a man is put unto according to the ancient profession of Sophistres noted by Plato 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make good a bad cause This is Bellarmines whole dispute word for word where with much travell he hath brought forth this conclusion that our adoption which now we have by justification is true and not in conceit onely which we freely confesse For whoever denied that our adoption is as true as our justification But doth it from hence follow that wee are justified by inherent righteousnesse A good syllogisme concluding that assertion from those premisses had beene worth his labour The most that can bee said in this matter as I suppose is this That when our gracious God by his holy Spirit doth regenerate us he doth beget in us the grace of faith As soone as faith is wrought in us wee are engrafted into Christ to us being in Christ the Lord communicateth the merits of his Sonne by imputation of whose righteousnesse unto us hee remitting our sinnes doth not onely accept of us as righteous in Christ but also in him hee adopteth us to bee his Sons and heires of eternall life § XIX Let this proposition then tanquam commune principium bee agreed upon betweene us Such as is our adoption such is our justification and let us see what either of us can inferre thereupon Bellarmine assumeth thus but our adoption is not imputative for that I suppose is his meaning by that odious word putative as though if it were imputative it were but putative which is most false For he that either is a sinner by imputation of Adams transgression is as truely a sinner as by transfusion of the corruption yea if he had not beene truely a sinner by imputation of Adams guilt hee should never have beene punished either with the transfusion of the coâ—…ruption or with death unto which by the guilt he was bound over or hee that is righteous by imputation of Christs righteousnesse is as truely righteous before God yea more truely than by infusion of inherent righteousnesse For that is perfect this is stained with the flesh and therefore is but a sinnefull righteousnesse which cannot stand in judgement before God judging according to the sentence of his Law But Bellarmine assumption as I was saying is this Our adoption is not imputative but by grace inherent therefore our justification is not imputative but by righteousnesse inherent The assumption which is utterly false hee endevoreth to prove because the Apostle Rom. 8. 15. saith that now by Christ wee haâ—…e received the Adoption of the sonnes of God quoad animam saith Bellarmine that he might patch with it vers 10. in respect of the soule which as it is there said liveth prâ—…pter justificationem although the body bee dead that is to say mortall by reason of sinne These places Belâ—…mine alleaged before to prove that the grace by which wee are justified is inherent and namely charity because charity is that by which wee cry in our hearts Abba Father Secondly because it is said that the Spirit liveth by reason of justification though the body bee dead by reason of sinne to both which I have before answered § XX. But here Bellarmine maketh a twofold Adoption the one of the soule patched out of Rom. 8. 10. 15. the other of the body pieced out of Rom. 8. 23. and Phil. 3. 20 21. when as indeed Adoption is not of either part but of
instruments of justice to God where by righteousnesse saith hee is understood something that is inherent c. and that hee goeth about to prove which no man doubteth of when indeed hee should prove not that there is a righteousnesse inherent in the faithfull for that wee freely confesse but that the righteousnesse which is inherent is that by which wee are justified But it is evident that the Apostle speaketh not heere of the righteousnesse of justification but of the righteousnesse of sanctification whereunto in this Chapter hee doth exhort as to a necessary and unseparable consequent of justification Neither doth the Apostle heere or elsewhere as before I observed in setting downe the differences betweene justification and sanctification exhort us to the righteousnesse of justification or the parts thereof which bee not our duties but Gods gracious favours for that were to exhort us to remission of sinne and acceptation to life But to the righteousnesse of sanctification and the parts mortification and renovation and to the particular duties thereof hee doth both here and in many other places exhort as namely in his sixth testimony cited oâ—…t of Eph. 4. 23 24. from which hee would prove which no man doth deny that our renovaâ—…ion according to the image of God standeth in righteousnesse and holinesse inherent § VII His fourth allegation had need to be a good one for this is the third time that hee hath cited and recited and as it were recocted it out of Rom. 8. 10. The Spirit liveth because of justification or as it is in the Greeke the Spirit is life because of justice For justification or justice which maketh us to live and thereby to worke cannot be onely remission of sin but something inward inherent Answ. In this place vers 10. 11. as I shewed before the Apostle setteth down a double priviledge of those in whom Christ dwelleth by his Spirit freeing them from the Law of death The one in respect of the soule vers 10. that howsoever the body bee dead that is as Bellarmine himselfe expoundeth mortall or appointed to death by reason of sin which the first Adam brought in and by it death his sinne being imputed to all yet the soule for so the word Spirit is taken when it is opposed to the body is life that is as the Antithesis requireth designed unto life by reason of that righteousnes of the second Adam by imputation whereof all the faithfull are entituled unto everlasting life For as in the former part of the Antithesis is not meant the spirituall death of men dead in sinne for that is the death of the soule and not of the body and the Apostle speaketh of those in whom Christ dwelleth but the corporall death unto which they also in whom Christ dwelleth are subject so in the latter is meant not the life of grace or of righteousnesse but the life of glory The other priviledge respecteth the body vers 11. that after it hath beene dead and turned into dust the Spirit of him that raised up Christ from death dwelling in us shall raise unto life eternall our mortall bodies § VIII His fifth testimony Gal. 3. 21. where when the Apostle saith If there had been a Law given which could give life or justifie as the Rhemists translate the word vivificare then in very deed justice should be of Law hee doth plainely saith he demonstrate that justice from whence justification is named is something which giveth life to the soule and hee doth place the same in motion and action Answ. If from this proposition propounded by the Apostle Bellarmine could have assumed the antecedent that so hee might conclude the consequent then might hee strongly have concluded against us that wee are justified by inherent righteousnesse But seeing the Apostle doth tollere antecedenâ—… that is intendeth to contradict that antecedent what reason hath Bellarmine to argue as hee doth It is very true that if the Law could have given us life that is as Chrysostome and Oâ—…umenius expound could have saved us according to that legall promise Hocfac vives doe this and thou shalt live or as the Rhemists translate could have justified us then undoubtedly wee might have beene justified by inherent righteousnesse But forasmuch as it was impossible for the Law to justifie and save us because it neither was noâ—… is possible for us by reason of the flesh to performe the condition and forasmuch as God therefore sent his Sonne to performe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that the Law requireth unto justification that wee who could not bee justified nor saved by any inherent righteousnesse of our owne prescribed in the Law and therefore not by a justice consisting in our actions or motions might bee justified and saved by the righteousnesse of Christ imputed unto us what can Bellarmine gather from hence with any shew or colour of reason to prove justification by such a righteousnesse as is inherent and consisteth in motion and action § IX The sixth I have already answered with the third As for his testimonies collected out of Augustine a briefe anâ—…were may serve that hee not considering the force of the Hebrew and Greeke words which never in all the Scriptures are used in the signification of making righteous by inherent or infused righteousnesse but resting as it seemeth upon the notation and composition of the Latine word justificare as not differing in respect thereof from the Verbe sanctificare doth sometimes more largely extend the signification of the word justification than the Scriptures use it as including the benefit of sanctification But it is a most certaine truth that the word justificare being used in the Scriptures translated into Latine as the translation of the Hebrew Hitsdiq and of the Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be understood to signifie no other thing if it bee a true translation than what is meant by the Hebrew and the Greeke which as I have shewed before doe never in all the Scriptures signifie to make just by infusion of righteousnesse And therefore it cannot be denied but that it is and was an oversight in them who using the word as mentioned in the Scriptures and from thence borrowing it extend it to another signification than that of the originall wherof it is a translation I say againe as I have said before that the fotce of the Latine word in this controversie is no further to be respected than as it is a translation of the Hebrew and the Greek and as it is a true translation it must bee understood no otherwise than according to the meaning of the originall if it be understood otherwise then is it not a true translation neither is the sence of the word divine but humane Howbeit Augustine differeth from Bellarmine as touching the use of this word in two things first that hee doth not alwaies so use the word as for example when hee teacheth as hee and the rest of the Fathers often doe
and by imputation of his obedience properly wee are entituled to the kingdome of heaven as I have shewed heretofore But in the popish justification there is neither remission of sinnes properly to free them from hell nor donation of such juâ—…tice as may entitle them to heaven For neither the abolition or extinction of sinne present by infusion of righteousnesse though it were compleate as it is not can satisfie for their former sinnes nor can their righteousnesse being unperfect give them right to heaven But it is the onely satisfaction of Christ by his righteousnesse and obedience both Passive and Active which being communicated unto beleevers by imputation doth both free them from hell and giveth them a Title and Right to the Heavenly Kingdome His proofe taken from the courts of men I admit as good against them who holding that wee are justified onely by the Passive righteousnesse of Christ doe make justification to bee nothing else but remission of sinnes For they whom being guilty in themselves as we all aâ—…e before God a judge doth justifie are freed indeed from punishment but they doe not thereby obtaine new rewards Howbeit there is a great dissimilitude betweene Gods justification of men and that of humane Iudges For a judge by his absolution though he doth free the guilty and indeed faulty parson from punishment and from the guilt binding him over to punishment and thereby perhaps bewrayeth his owne unjustice yet he doth not free him from the fault nor doth he make him righteous and much lesse doth hee indow him with new priviledges But when God doth justifie a beleeving sinner hee doth not onely free him from hell and from the guilt binding him over to condemnation by imputation of Christ sufferings but also by imputation of Christ obedience he maketh him righteous and an heire of eternall life And in thus justifying a beleeving sinner he is just because Christ by his sufferings hath fully satisfied for his sinnes and by his obedience hath merited for him eternall life § XIII His third reason justification of enemies maketh us Gods friends children beloved Citizens of Heaven the Domesticks of God heires of his kingdome as the Scriptures every where speake therefore it doth not stand onely in remission of sinnes Thus farre we agree with him But as it is a good argument against those who hold justification to bee nothing else but remission of sinne so it maketh not for him who holdeth justification by infusion of righteousnesse but against him For whereas the Scriptures testifie that God when he justifieth men hee doth of enemies make them his beloved friends and his children c. It is to be confessed that here is a very great change but is it reall or relative by infusion or by imputation Surely when God reconcileth men unto himselfe and of enemies maketh them his favourites when he adopteth men and of the children of the devill maketh them his owne children when justifying men hee doth of foes make them his beloved friends of bondslaves not onely freemen but also Citizens of heaven of alients his Domesticks of men obnoxious to damnation heires of his Kingdome hee doth not these things by infusion of any reall or positive qualities into them but these are externall favours which God vouchsafeth unto them when forgiving their sinnes and imputing unto them the righteousnesse of his Sonne hee doth in him accept them for such yea and in respect of his relation unto them maketh them such as before they were not And when he hath made men such by imputation he also maketh them such by infusion of such qualities and dispositions as are answerable to that which they are called as I shewed in the beginning whom God receiveth into his grace and favour them hee endueth with grace whom hee redeemeth from the servitude of sinne and Satan hee maketh them his faithfull servants they who are the sonnes of God by adoption are also his sonnes by regeneration and finally those whom God doth justifie them also he doth sanctifie § XIV And this is all which Bellarmine hath brought for the proofes of justification by inherent and infused righteousnesse either from the Scriptures or from naturall reason Afterwards indeed in his eighth Chapter hee produceth the testimonies of Augustine and some others which he calleh the tradition of the ancient Fathers as if they did agree with the doctrine of the present Church of Rome which they doe not For first though some of the Latine Fathers led by the notation of the Latine word which was not to be respected it being bnt the translation of the Hebrew and Greeke did under the name of justification include the benefit of sanctification whereof there is no example in the Scriptures yet they did not exclude that which the Scriptures call justification as â—…the Papists doe For they acknowledged that justification containeth remission of sinnes and that it standeth chiefly in remission of sinnes that being our happinesse and therefore implying besides the not imputing of sinne acceptation unto life The Papists also talke of remission but their remission is not that which the Scriptures and Fathers speake of for the Scriptures and Fathers and all ancient Writers whatsoever by remission understand veniam pardon condonation forgiving not imputing of sinne absolving from it which is a distinct action of God from infusion of righteousnesse that being a worke of God without us working no reall or positive change within us and herein wee have the consent of all antiquity The Papists by remission of sinne understand the expulsion or extinction the utter deletion or abolition of sinne which is not a distinct action as they teach from infusion of righteousnesse but one and the same action which is the infusion of righteousnesse expelling sinne And is an action of God not without us as the other but within us working in us a reall and possitive change And therefore remission of sinne in the Popish sense belongeth not to justification but to perfect sanctification as being a totall mortification of sinne which none attaine unto in this life but of this point I have already treated in the second question of the first controversie Secondly the fathers oftentimes use the word justification in the same sense that wee doe according to the Scriptures as implying the forgivenesse of sinnes and acceptation unto life by the satisfaction and merits of Christ communicated unto us As namely when they teach as very oft they doe that we are justified by faith alone which they could not have taught if by justifying they had meant sanctifying for we are not sanctified by faith alone as all confesse Thirdly the Fathers did not looke to bee justified before God by any righteousnesse inherent in themselves or performed by them but renounced it as being unperfect and stained with the flesh And therefore where they speake of justification by inherent righteousnesse they meant sanctification and not justification before God whereof our question
surety hee voluntarily undertooke our debt so by and for his satisfaction which hee performed for us and which the Lord accepteth in our behalfe as if we had performed the same in our owne persons wee are justified And yet though our sinnes being imputed to him he was reputed and as it were made a sinner and though his righteousnesse being imputed to us wee are made righteous in him yet this hindreth not but that hee in himselfe was just and wee in our selves sinners Yea this argueth that hee in himselfe was just and we in our selves sinners § VII Now that Christ was made a sinner for us that is was condemned and crucified as if hee had beene a sinner the Greeke expositours with one consent doe teach Chrysostome him that knew no sin saith the Apostle him who was righteousnesse it selfe he made sin that is he suffer'd him to be condemn'd as a sinner and to dye as one accursed and againe more plainely for him that was righteous saith the Apostle he made a sinner that those which bee sinners he might make righteous But saith he the Apostle saith more him he made sinne and us hee made righteous The like have Decumenius his Sonne being righteousnesse and holinesse he made sinne that is hee suffered him to bee crucified as a sinner and as a guilty person and againe he made sinne that is to bee condemned as a sinner and elsewhere very plainely for now the father sent him making him sinne for Christ was very much a sinner as having 〈◊〉 upon him the sinnes â—…f the whole world and â—…ade them his owne for that Christ was a sinner here saith he him that knew no sinne â—…e made sinne for us that were in very deed sinne And also Theophylact his Sonne who knew not sinne that is who himselfe was righteousnesse he made to dye for us as if he had beene a sinner and malefactor For cursed saith he is he who hangeth on a tree and hee was numbred among the transgressours Theodoret likewise being free from sinne he did undergoe the death of sinners that hee might take away the sinne of men and being called that which we are that is a sinner he made us that which he was that is righteous To the like purpose Augustine interpreting those words of Psalme 22. vers 1. according to the translation of the Septuagints and the vulgar Latine verba delictorum meorum the words of my sinnes of what sinnes saith he of whom it is said that he did no sinne neither was any guile found in his mouth how then doth he say of my sinnes but that hee prayeth for our sinnes and our sinnes he hath made his owne sinnes that his righteousnesse he might make our righteousnesse Hierome upon the same words Verbâ—… delictorum meorâ—… quia nostra peccâ—…ta sua reputat he saith the words of my sinne because our sinnes hee reputeth to bee his owne and againe on those words Psalm 38. 7. because mine iniquity for â—…s he was made subject to the curse that he might deliver us from the curse of the Law so he professeth himselfe a sinner who bare our sinnes and on these words Cogitabâ—… pro peccaâ—… meo Christs sinnes are the sinnes of mankinde Peccata Christi humani delicta sunt generis VIII Thirdly Bishop and other Papists commonly by sinne in this place understand a sacrifice for sinne according to the interpretation of some of the ancient acknowledged by Oecumeniâ—…s in which sense not onely the word Ascham is often used as Leviâ—… 5. 6. 16. 18 19. 7. 1 2. Numb 5. 7. but also Chattath Exod. 30. 10. Levit. 7. 7. 37. Levit. 4. 3. 8. 14. 20. 24. 9. 7. Ezek. 44. 27. 45. 19. 23. Hos. 4. 8. they eate the sinne of my people Answere This exposition maketh wholly for us For if God did make Christ a sacrifice for sinne he imputed our sinnes unto him or as the Prophet Esay speaketh he laid on him the iniquity of us all Esai 53. 6. Neither can it bee conceived how he should be made a sacrifice for our sinne unlesse our sinne were imputed unto him In sacrifices for sinne all which were types of Christ his sacrifice the manner was that the party who offered the sacrifice for sinne should lay his hand upon the head of the sacrifice the meaning of which ceremony is fully explained Lev. 16. 21 22. Where Aaron is required in the name of all the Congregation to lay his hands upon the head of the Scape-Goat which the Hebrews call Azazel the Greekes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latines Emissarium and confesse 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 Goate and the Goate shall beare upon him all their iniquities So it is said of our Saviour Christ that when his soule shall be made an offering for sinne the Lord would lay upon him the iniquities of us all and that he should beare our sinnes And as our sinnes are imputed to him so his sufferings are imputed to us and accepted for us and in our behalfe as a full satisfaction and propitiation for our sinnes Ephes. 5. 2. 1 Ioh. 2. 2. which is also said of those Sacrifices which were but types and figures of his sacrifice Levit. 1. 4. and whereas Bellarmine saith that we cannot by Christs satisfaction imputed to us bee accounted just that is saith he cleane and without spot if the spots and defilements of sinne be truely inherent in us I answere If none bee justified in whom remaine any spots of sinne then no mortall man is justified But as Christ was reputed a sinner and was punished as a sinner because our sinne that is our debt which hee as our surety undertooke was imputed to him though in him was no spot of sinne even so we are by Christs satisfaction imputed to us reputed and rewarded as just and that by such a justice in which as Chrysostome saith there is no spot or blemish and is therefore called Gods righteousnesse though in us doe remaine some spots and blemishes of sinne For here it is said not that wee are made righteous but righteousnesse yea Gods righteousnesse and that not in our selves but in him For that is Gods righteousnesse when we are not justified by workes that is by righteousnesse inherent seeing it is necessary that no spot bee found as Chrysostome saith The like have Oecumenius and Theophylact. Hee did not say that wee might be made righteous saith Oecumenius but righteousnesse it selfe which is more and the righteousnesse of God Now Gods righteousnesse is to bee justified not by workes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but by indulgence in him and by him § IX Bellarmine having rejected our exposition which is indeed the exposition of the Fathers as hath been shewed he saith it may be expounded three waies first that by the
away unlesse light come in place And this saith he The Apostle manifestly sheweth when he saith David explaineth the blessednesse of a man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousnesse without workes Blâ—…ssed are they whose sinnes are forgiven Vbi saith Bellarmine ex non imputatione peccatorum colligit imputationem justitiae where the Apostle from the not imputing of sin gathereth the imputing of justice which is very true and proveth that here is a full definition of justification containing these two parts the not imputing of sinne to the beleever and imputing of righteousnesse or accepting of him as righteous But where is either the popish deletion of sinne or infusion of righteousnesse unlesse as they have turned remission into deletion so also imputation bee converted into infusion § V. To the proposition also Bellarmine answereth in part and first to the word covering that although to cover and not to impute sinnes is not if you respect the force of the word to abolish or to extinguish sinne yet if they be referred to God the sense importeth so much For nothing can bee bid from God unlesse it bee â—…tterly taken away for all things are naked and open before his eyes Reply Nothing can bee hid from God which hee would not have hid But if it please God to cover our sinnes that hee will not behold them Psalm 85. 2. or to hide his face from them Psal. 51. 9. to cast them behinde his backe Esai 38. 17. not to marke what is done amisse Psalm 130. 3. then hee is said not to see them because he taketh no notice of them but passeth by them Mic. 7. 18. In which sense Charity is said to cover sinnes Prov. 10. 12. § VI. To the word not imputing he saith that God cannot but impute sinne to him that remaâ—…neth a sinner neither can hee repute him righteous unlesse he be made righteous therefore â—…he not imputing of sinne draweth with it veram peccati remissionem that is the extinction of sinne and infusion of righteousnesse Reply he should have said as he said before the not imputing of sinne draweth with it imputing of righteousnesse or the acceptation of a man as righteous both which alwayes goe together because both are wrought together by imputation of Christs righteousnesse whereas therefore hee saith that God cannot but impute sinne where sinne still remaineth it is true of unbeleevers and impenitent sinners who are out of Christ but for them that bee in Christ that is to say beleeving and repentant sinners for whose sinnes Christ hath fully satisfied and whom though in themselves sinners hee hath accepted as righteous in Christ and for whom our Saviour maketh intercession that their sinnes may not be imputed to them hee cannot truly be said to impute sinne unto them It is true also that the Lord reputeth none righteous but such as he maketh righteous both by imputation of Christs righteousnesse and also by regeneration by imputation perfectly and at once by regeneration in part and by degrâ—…s they being not onely Spirit but flesh also in regard whereof though they be righteous in Christ yet in themselves they are sinners by reason of sinne remaining in them though in some measure mortified and not at all imputed So that a regenerate man in divers respects is both a righteous man and a sinner righteous not onely in Christ by imputation of his perfect righteousnesse but also in himselfe by inherent righteousnesse begun in him from which as is from the better part 〈◊〉 hath his denomination in the Scriptures a sinner also in himselfe both in respect of habituall sinnes remaining in him as the remnants of originall sinne and also in respect of actuall transgressions both of commission and of omission whereinto hee doth dayly fall § VII And whereas he saith that these phrases almost alwaies goe together and to that purpose citeth Nehem. 4. 5. Psal. 51. 9 85. 2 and so Psal. 32. 1 2. I answere that deletion of sinne covering of sinne forgiving of sinne and the not imputing of it are used as synonima that is as words of the same signification and that in all such places deletion of sin doth signifie the blotting of them our of Gods remembrance which is as it were his record or debt booke Out of which when God forgiveth sinnes he blotteth or wipeth them out Thus to forgive sins is not to remember them Esai 43. 25. I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine owne sake and wil not remember thy sinnes Ier. 31. 34. I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sinne no more And to remember them is not to forgive them Ps. 109. 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred with the Lord and let not the sinne of his Mother bee blotted out namely of remembrance that is let it not bee forgotten So Neh. 4. 5. Cover not their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before thee Ps 51. 9. hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities and to the same purpose Psal. 85. 2. forgiving and covering are used in the same fence Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all theiâ—… sinne and so Psal. 32. 1. 2. forgiving covering not imputing Deletion therefore of sinnes according to the Scriptures is the blotting of them out of the Booke of Gods remembrance In this sense many things are said deleri to bee blotted out or wiped away by oblivion whose memory is wiped out as it is said of the Amalekites Exod. 17. 14. and according to the vulgar Latine translation Deut. 31. 21. nulla delebit oblivio Esth. 9. 28. Eccl. 6. 4. Ierem. 20. 11. 23. 40. 50. 5. So that non imputare is all one with ignoscere 2 Tim. 4. 16. So Iob 42. 8. according to the vulgar Latine 2 Cbro 30. 19. Ezek. 33. 16. § VIII Now if not to impute sinne bee as Bellarmine sâ—…ith to expell sinne by infusion of righteousnesse for according to his concelt infusion of righteousnesse is not a consequent of the expulsion of sinne as here for a poore evasion he saith but expulsion of sinne is a consequent of infusion of righteousnesse for according to his assertion by infusion of righteousnesse sinne is expelled as by accession of light and heat cold and darkenesse is expelled I say if not to impute sinne bee to expell sinne by infusion of justice then by the rule of contraries which is Contrariorum contraria sunt consequentia to impute sinne shall bee to expell righteousnesse by infusion of sinne as it was well objected by Chemnitius To him Bellarmine objecteth want of Logicke for calling those contraria which are contradicentia Where by Bellarmines Logick adversa onely are contraria whereof notwithstanding there are foure sorts for if contraries bee such opposits as are opposed one to one onely then besides adversa as Tully termeth those which Aristotle calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there are three
but the question is of justification Now many things are required to salvation which doe not concurre to justification as namely confession holinesse of life patience perseverance c. which though they goe before salvation yet they follow after justification and therefore cannot be causes thereof In all this discourse therefore Bellarmine is farre from concluding the point in question Notwithstanding it will not be unprofitable if I shall make a short excursion to follow him in his discourse but not to answere every particular which is not worth the answering That therefore he may confute our most pernicious errour as he calleth it he saith he will prove three things first that in the Gospell is contained the doctrine of workes and divers Lawes and that the promises thereof require the condition of fulfilling the Law Secondly that the just are not free from the observation of the Law of God Thirdly that good workes are simply necessary to Salvation § III. His intent in the first is to disprove that difference which we make betweene the Law and the Gospell from whence he had collected in the former Chapter that we deny the necessity of good works The difference was this That the Law propoundeth justification and salvation upon the condition of our fulfilling the whole Law But the Gospell promiseth justification and salvation upon the condition of faith only excluding works as the causes by which we are justified or for which we be saved which difference if it be true as it is most true plainely proveth justification by faith only and disproveth justification by workes For the better understanding whereof wee are to distinguish the termes both of the Law and Gospell which are used sometimes more largely sometimes more strictly and properly More largely Thorah the Law signifieth the whole doctrine of the old Testament whether written and contained in the bookes of Moses the Prophets and the Psalmes or Preached Written thus it is said to have beene written in the Law Ioh. 10. 34. which is written Psalm 82. 6. so Ioh. 12. 34. which is written Psalm 110. 4. so Ioh. 15. 25. which is written Psalm 35. 19. The Law saith those things Rom. 3. 19. which are cited out of the Psalmes and out of the Prophet Esay vers 10 11 12. Thus 1 Cor 14. 21. out of Esai 28. 11. thus Gal. 4. 21. out of Gen. 21. 10. And thus by the Law in many places is understood the whole doctrine of God contained in the Scriptures of the old testament and is often used in the same sense promiscuously g with Gods word insomuch that the Septuagints sometime translate Dabar which signifieth the word by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Preached as Esai 30. 9 10. Psalm 78. 1. Ier. 18. 18. Prov. 28. 9. 29. 18. In this large sense the Evangelicall promises made in the old testament are contained in the Law though properly belonging to the Gospell as Bellarmine confesseth the promises of remission of sinnes though they be in the Prophets they doe not belong to the Law but to the Gospell And so the covenant of grace it selfe which the Lord made with Abraham in making whereof he is said Gal. 3. 8. to have preached before the Gospell to Abraham Of the Doctrine of the Gospell which was to begin at Ierusalem Luk. 24. 47. it is said Esai 2. 3. Mic. 4. 2. out of Sion the Law shall goe foorth So more largely the Gospell is taken for the whole Doctrine of the new Testament whether written by the Apostles and Evangelists or preached Mark. 13. 10. Rom. 10. 16. Gal. 2. 5 14. Ephes. 6. 19. Col. 1. 5. Phil. 1. 27. 2 Thes. 1. 8. Thus the histories of the life and death of CHRIST are called Gospels Mark 1. 1. Mat. 26. 13. Preached Rom. 2. 16. 16. 25. 1 Cor. 4. 15. 9. 18. Gal. 2. 7. 1 Thes. 1. 5. 2. 4. 2 Thes. 2. 14. 2 Tim. 2. 8. In respect of this large sense it is truely said that the Precepts Promises and Comminations of the Law are contained in the Gospell § IV More strictly and properly the Law signifieth the Covenant of workes which is also called the Law of workes Rom. 3. 27. which upon condition of perfect and perpetuall obedience promiseth justification and salvation to the observers thereof Rom. 10. 5. Gal. 3. 12. Levit 18. 5. Ezek. 20. 11. Act. 13. 38. Rom. 3. 20 28. Likewise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Gospell which importeth good tydings signifieth more strictly and properly the Covenant of Grace which is also called the Law of faith Rom. 3. 27. and the word of faith Rom. 10. 8. which freely promiseth justification and right of salvation to all that beleeve in Christ Ioh. 3. 15 16 36. 6. 47. 11. 25. 20. 31. Act. 16. 31. Rom. 3. 24. 10. 6 9. Eph. 2. 8 9. Tit. 3. 5. 1 Ioh. 5 13. This doctrine of God concerning Salvation by Christ through faith which properly is the Gospell Luk. 4. 18. Matth. 11. 5. Rom. 1. 16 17. Act. 15. 7. Gal. 1. 6. 3. 8. Act. 10. 36. is called the Gospell of grace Act. 20. 24. the word of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5. 18. the Gospell of peace Ephes. 6. 15. the Gospell of salvation Ephes. 1. 13. the Gospell of glory 1 Tim. 1. 11. the Gospell of the glory of Christ that is the glorious Gospell of Christ 2 Cor. 4. 4. the Gospell of the Kingdome Matth. 4. 13. 24. 13. This doctrine teacheth us that our gracious God out of his meere grace having elected his children in Christ before all times did in the fulnesse of time send downe his Sonne to save us and that the benefit of the Messias might be applyed unto us vouchsafeth unto us the Gospell of grace by which according to the purpose of his grace given unto us in Christ before all secular times he calleth us working in us the grace of faith being endued with faith hee imputeth unto us the righteousnesse and merits of Christ making us partakers of redemption reconciliation justification and adoption and so freeing us from hell and from all the enemies of our salvation hee entituleth us unto the kingdome of heaven And that wee may be fitted and prepared for his Kingdome into which no unholy thing may enter Apoc. 21. 27. hee hath promised to them that beleeve that being redeemed reconciled justified adopted and so entituled to the kingdome of heaven hee will give them grace to worship him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of our life that is in the voluntary upright and constant obedience of his Law Luk. 1. 73 74 75. It is true that the things which God in this Covenant of grace hath promised to give as namely faith and new obedience are also required of us Deo dante quod jubet God giving to us what he requireth of us the one as the antecedent condition
his conversion he was touching the righteousnes which is in the Law blamelesse Phil. 3. 6. They were blamelesse before men but not faultles before God For Zacharias did use to sacrifice for his owne sinnes as well as for others as Augustine saith in his answere to this argument alleaged by the Pelagians And who knoweth not that for the sinne of incredulity hee was both deafe and dumbe for a time As touching the Apostles before the resurrection of Christ though our Saviour call them his friends and giveth them this testimony that they had kept his word yet who can bee ignorant how farre they were at that time from perfection and with how great imperfections they kept his word But it is strange that he should alleage the example of S. Paul Rom. 7. as one that had kept the Commandement forbidding concupiscence when in that chapter hee doth not onely confesse that by that Commandement hee was convicted to bee a sinner in that hee had concupiscence but also that that habituall concupiscence might appeare exceedingly sinnefull it did take occasion by the Law to worke in him all manner of actuall concupiscence § XIV But Bellarmines conceit is that concupiscence in the Apostle was no sinne because he did not consent to it Whereto I answere first that as he was carnall he did consent unto it but not as he was spirituall for so hee saith I delight in the Law of God after the inward man but I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members Whereupon he cryeth out v. 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death meaning therby the flesh or the body of sin Secondly though the Apostle had not consented to concupiscence yet both the habituall concupiscence it self remainning in him after his regeneration and the actual concupiscences going before coâ—…sent arising from thence were sins The habituall is often called by the Apostle a sin and is noted to be the sinning sin which taking occasion by the Law to send forth evill concupiscences namely which the Law forbiddeth was exceedingly sinfull As for those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or first motions of sinne in the thought or affections going before consent and arising from our owne concupiscence they are those very sinnes which are directly forbidden in the tenth Commandement for those which are joyned with consent are forbidden in the former Commandements Neither could Paul who had beene trayned up in the Law bee ignorant of that which the very heathen knew by the light of nature that evill concupiscence accompanyed with consent was a sinne But that which is forbidden in the tenth commandement the Apostle had not knowne to bee a sinne except the Law had said thou shalt not lust or thou shalt not have any evill concupiscence Hence Bellarmine concludeth that because the Law hath beene kept by many it is possible Neither doe we deny it to bee kept by the faithfull in respect of their upright walking in all the Commandements of God but wee deny it to be perfectly fulfilled by them Their new obedience which they performe with upright hearts and willing mindes hath the title of perfection given unto it and is a perfection begunne in respect of the parts for even an infant that is formed in the wombe is perfect in respect of his parts and is accepted of God in Christ the Lord not imputing to the faithfull their imperfections And it is a good saying of Augustine Oâ—…nia ergo mandata facta deputantur quando quicquid non fit ignoscitur All the Commandements are esteemed as done when that whâ—…ch is not done is pardoned § XV. But this answere concerning perfection of obedience begunne and the imperfections remitted will not serve the turne saith Yeaâ—…zechias â—…zechias professâ—…th that he had walked before the Lord in truth and with a perfect heart And if Ezechias walked before God with a perfâ—…ct heart who will deny it to Abraham to whom it was said walke before me and be perfect Answ. Wee doe read that the faithfull did keepe the Law but wee never read that they did abâ—…olutely fulfill it but that all of them had their imperfections and their sinnes And although many oâ—… them abounded with good workes yet their justification consisted in the remission of their sinnes and Gods acceptation of them in Christ imputing righteousnesse unto them without workes And where as it is said that they obeyed God with their whole heart and with a perfect heart this is to be understood of an entire or upright heart The hebrew words Tham Thom Tâ—…min and Shalem which signifâ—…e perfect or perfection are synonyma or words of the same sence with â—…ashar Iosher and Emeth that is upright uprightnesse and truth or sincerity and are signified by the phrase of walking with God or be fore God and aâ—…e the same with the Greek words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all of them opposed not to imperfection but to hypocrisie For Thom Tham and Thamin consider these places Psal. 35. 21. where Thom and Iosher are used as synonima the latter being the exposition of the former Let perfection and 〈◊〉 preserve mee Iosh. 24. 14. Where Thamin and Emâ—…th are used promiscuously serve the Lord in perfection and in truth Psal. 37. 37. where Tham and Iashar are put for the same observe the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace So Iob is commended to have been Ish Thâ—… Vejashar a perfect and upright man The word Shalem which in the same speech of Ezechias 2 King 20. 3. is by the 72. translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perfect is by them reâ—…dred Esay 38. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a true heart as an upright heart is called Heb. 10. 22. § XVI The phrase of performing dueties with the whole heart Deut. 26. 16 as to seeke God with all the heart Deut. 4. 29. Psal. 119. â—… 10. to keepe his Commandements with all the heart and with all â—…he soule 2 King 23. 3. Psal. 119. 34 69. to turne unto the Lord with all the heart Ioâ—…l 2. 12. importeth nothing else where it is not legally understood but an entyre or upright heart that is not an heart and an heart as hypocrites use to speake Psal. 12. 2. 1 Chron. 12. 33. the phrase not with an heart and an heart is expounded vers 38. to be a perfect or upright heart Thus to serve the Lord in truth is to serve him with the whole heart 1 Sam. 12. 24. and to praise God with the whole heart Psal. 9. 1. 111. 1. is to praiâ—…e him with uprightnesse of heart Psal. 119. 7. Thus to walke with God or before God is to bee perfect or upright Gen. 17. 1. and to bee perfect or upright is to walke with God or before him for to
Having received but the first fruits of the Spirit Rom. 8. 23. As for his third prosyllogisme that against such there is no law the meaning is not that those which have the fruits of the Spirit doe never transgresse the law for in many things we offend all but the words are to be understood either of the fruites of the Spirit that against such there is no law but against the contrary fruites of the flesh or of the persons indued with the fruites of the Spirit and then the meaning is either as 1 Tim. 1. 9. That the law is not given to such or as Gal. 5. 18. That those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law that is they are neither under the curse not yet under the terrour and dominion of the law as if they needed thereby to bee forced to obedience but they are as it were a law unto themselves willingly performing obedience to that which the law prescribeth according to the measure of grace received not but that sometimes they faile the flesh prevailing against the Spirit Not under the curse nor subject to the accusation and condemnation of the Law because in Christ who hath freed them from the curse their sinnes are forgiven Who then shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods children seeing it is God that doth justifie who shall condemne seeing Christ who dyed for us maketh also intercession for us But this doth not prove that therefore the faithfull sinne not But this proveth that when having sinned they confesse their sinnes God is just to forgive them because wee have an Advocate with the Father Christ Iesus the righteous and hee is the propitiation for our sinnes In this forgivenesse of our sinnes and Gods acceptation of us in Christ and not in our obedience doth our justification consist But he that fulfilleth the Law needeth not remission of sinnes which all doe need And therefore desperate is Bellarmines conclusion that whosoever is justified fulfilleth the Law and whosoever doth not fulfill the Law which no man doth is not justified § XIV And such also is his last argument which may thus bee framed Whosoever sinneth not fulfilleth the Law Of every justified man it may be verified that he sinneth not Therefore every justified man fulfilleth the Law The proposition he proveth because he that sinneth not doth not transgresse the Law and he that doth not transgresse the Law doth fulfill it First I answere to the proposition and the proofe thereof that they are true if understood of continued acts as thus hee that sinneth not that is that never sinneth hee that transgresseth not the Law that is that never doth transgresse it doth fulfill it For none doe fulfill the Law but they who continue in all the things that are written in the Booke of the Law to doe them which is duely to bee marked For the Papists seeme to bee of this opinion that by any one act of obedience wherein a man sinneth not hee doth fulfill the Law And so they feare not to say that every worke of charity doth absolutely merit eternall life wherein they doe grievously erre imagining that as one act committed against charity doth absolutely deserve damnation so any one act proceeding from charity doth absolutely merit salvation But who knoweth not that the whole law of God is copulative and so to bee understood As therefore in a copulative proposition consisting of many suppose twenty parts if any one bee false though all the rest be true the whole proposition is false and to be denyed So if a man should keepe all the Commandements and transgresse any one though it were but once hee is a transgressor of the law and is as Saint Iames saith guilty of all and by the sentence of the law is subject to the curse because he hath not continued in all the things which are written in the Booke of the law to doe them Hee that would bee thought to fulfill the law must not onely abstaine from all the things forbidden but hee must also doe the things commanded hee must doe all hee must continue in doing all And thus if the proposition and the proofe thereof bee understood he that sinneth not he that transgresseth not the Law that is he that never sinneth he that never transgresseth the Law doth fulfill it are true but otherwise they are false and to be denyed § XV. I come to the assumption which Bellarmine proveth thus Whosoever is regenerate and borne of God sinneth not All that are justified are regenerate and that because no man denyethit he proveth by manifold testimonies Ioh. 1. 12 13. 3. 5. 1 Pet. 2. 1 1 Ioh. 4. 7. Rom. 8. 15. Therefore those that are justified sinne not The proposition he proveth out of 1 Ioh. 3. 9. Whosoever is borne of God sinneth not neither can he sinne because he is borne of God Yet I will not answere him as he answereth us viz. that there be five expositions of this place and never a one of them to the purpose and so dismisse it being indeed unanswerable but I answer that the Apostle doth not meane that the regenerate are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or doe not sinne at all for to that erroneous sense both Iouin and Pelag. did abuse that place as Bellar. here doth but his meaning may be explained out of his own words in the same Epistle for as in the fifth chapter v. 18. When he saith whosoeveris borne of God sinneth not he meaneth as appeareth by the words going before that he sinneth not unto death that is committeth not that unpardonable sin for which we are not to pray v. 16. so here when hee saith whosoever is borne of God doth not commit sin his meaning may be collected out of the next verse going before vers 8. compared with Ioh. 8. 34. he that is borne of God worketh not sinne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for hee that worketh sinne he that is a worker of iniquity is of the Devill as hee saith vers 8. He that worketh sinne saith our Saviour Ioh. 8. 34. is the servant of sinne and therefore in him sinne reigneth As therefore in the fifth chapter when hee saith he that is borne of God sinneth not he meaneth that he doth not so sinne as he had said vers 16. viz. unto death so here when it is said he cannot sinne his meaning is in that manner as a worker of iniquity as the child of the Devill as the servant of sinne in whom sinne reigneth And in this sense Augustine saith in quo peccatum non regnat non peccat in whom sinne reigneth not he sinneth not namely as those who in the scriptures are called sinners that is impenitent sinners servants of sinne in whom sinne reigneth workers of iniquity Luk. 13. 27. Matth. 7. 23. who shall bee condemned But although they who are borne of God are not such as the Scripture calleth sinners neither doe so sinne
by faith without works If therefore St. Iames doe affirme that men are justified in the same sence that Paul denyeth the same and that Abraham was justified by his workes which Paul denyeth he is made to contradict the Apostle Paul § VI. But as the Popish doctrine is repugnant to the doctrine of the Apostle Paul so neither can it bee grounded upon this text which may appeare by a briefe Analysis thereof Where first you are to consider the occasion of this discourse and thereupon the scope of the Apostle therein The occasion was the dissolute life of many Christians who as Iude speaketh vers 4. did turne the grace of God into wantonnes vaine men as St. Iames calleth them vers 20. who when they had learned that a man is justified by faith without workes hereby tooke occasion to cast of all care of good workes As if it were sufficient for them howsoever they lived to professe them selves to believe The scope therfore and intendement of the Apostle is not to confute the doctrine of Paul concerning justification by faith alone but according to Pauls direction Tit. 3. 8. to perswade all those who professe themselves to believe to be studious of good workes And that hee doth by this argument because howsoever faith doth justifie alone yet the profession of faith alone without good workes will not justifie nor save a man but is altogether vaine and unprofitable The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or state of the question which hee propoundeth to argue manifestly appeareth by the proposition wherein the question is propounded and by the conclusion wherein the question is concluded the proposition vers 14. What profit my brethren if a man say hee hath faith and hath not workes will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that faith save him Marke the wordes if a man shall say hee hath faith that is if a man shall professe himself to believe and hath not works that is a conversation answerable in some measure to his profession will that faith which is in profession onely justifie or save him this interrogation implyeth a most Emphaticall negation wherein hee doth not onely deny that faith which is onely in profession and doth not worke by love doth justifie or save a man but also for the truth of his deniall hee doth appeale as it were to their conscience sor so much is meant by the interrogation The question then is not whether true faith doe justifie alone as Bellarmine would have it but whether that faith which is alone and by it selfe vers 17. without workes without a Christian conversation be a true justifying or saving saith This the Apostle denieth and so doe wee In the rest of the discourse hee proveth this negative assertion by an argument from the contrary namely that this fruitlesse faith is not a true faith because it is dead Where the Apostle argueth to this effect That faith which is dead doth not iustifie or save a man The faith which is profession onely and is alone without workes is dead Therefore that faith which is in profession onely and is alone without workes doth not iustifie or save a man The assumption hee proveth in this whole discourse where the conâ—…lusion is alwayes this that the faith which is alone and without workes is dead and therefore that is the question wich is disputed and concluded § VII Now that the faith which is alone and without workes is dead hee proveth by five arguments 1. The first à parâ—… That charity which is onely in word and not in deed is vaine and unprofitable vers 15. 16. Even so pariratione that faith which is in profession only having no works to accompany it is dead vers 17. 2. The second argument is taken from the effects For a true lively faith may bee demonstrated by good workes and that which cannot be demonstrated by good workes is but a dead faith And this hee proveth vers 18. against the carnall Gospeller as it were by the partyes owne testimony or forced confession provoking him to make experience which kind of proofe is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou professest the faith having no workes I also professe the faith and have workes come now to the tryall hee that hath a true faith may approve it by the fruits shewe then they faith if thou canst by thy workes which thou knowest thou canst not doe and I by my workes will approve my faith 3. The third argument is from the subject For a true justifying faith is not common to all men 2. Thes. 3. 2. and much lesse to Devils but is proper to the Elect Tit. 1. 1. But that faith which men professe without charity and without good workes is common to Devils vers 19. Thou professest that thou believest that there is one God thou doest well but if this thy beliefe be not accompanied with charity and good workes know this that the devils themselves who hate God doe though with horrour knowe and perforce believe the same 4. The fourth argument to prove that faith onely professed or which is in profession onely is not a true and a lively but a conterfeit and a dead faith is a twofold example of Abraham and of Rahab who were justified that is declared and knowne to be just by their workes For in this sence as the word is often used in the Scriptures as Mâ—…t 11. 19. Luk 7. 29. Râ—… 3. 4. 1. Tim. 3. 16 so of necessity it must bee taken in this place For by good workes which alwaies followe and never goe before justification wee are not made just but being already justified wee are by them declared and knowne to be just For hee is a righteous man that worketh righteousnesse And this the Schoolmen themselves doe teach that works doâ—… justifiâ—… â—…clarativè Thâ—…s Aquinas saith Opera nâ—…n sunt caâ—…sa quòd aliquiâ—… sit iâ—…tus apud Deum c. workes are not the cause why any man is just before God but rather they are the executions and manifestations of iustice Nam nullus per opera iustificatur apud Deum sed per habitum fidei For no man is iustified before God by workes but by the habit of faith And whereas it might bee obiected out of Iam. 2. that Abraham was iustified by workes hee answeareth the word to be iustified many be taken two wayes whereof the one is quantum ad executionem iustitiae manifestationem inrespect of execution and manifestation of iustice hoc mâ—…do iustificatur homo i. iustus ostenditur ex operib operatis and thus a man is iustified that is declared be iust by the workes which hee hath done And thus the ordinary glosse expoundeth the word in this place But let us come to the words vers 20. § VIII But wilt thou know O vaine man that faith that is that faith professed or in profession onely without workes is dead or that the faith which is without workes is knowne to be dead
like they say they are but schoole points which not being yet determined by the Church may freely bee disputed of pro con Yea but thus much your Church hath determined that the faithfull who are the members of Christ doe by their workes truely merit or deserve eternall life and denounceth a curse against those who shall deny that a justified man doth by his good workes truely merit eternall life But there is nothing which can truly and properly be called merit but that which is of condignity and doth for it selfe and for its owne worth absolutely deserve the reward That which is said to merit by way of congruity is not truely and properly meritorious nor that which is said meerely to merit ex pacto as where is no proportion betweene the merit and the wages For neither of these doth truely deserve that which it is said to merit Wherefore the most and the most learned of the Papists hold that there is a due proportion betweene the workes of the faithfull proceeding from charity and the heavenly reward and that they condignely merit eternall life not only in respect of Gods promise but also for the worthinesse of the workes which are so dignified they say by the merit of Christ that they become truely meritorious and doe in Iustice according to their worth deserve the heavenly reward even as justly as the sinnes of the wicked deserve the punishment of hell In so much that our Rhemists say good workes be meritorious and the very cause of salvation so farre that God should be unjust if he rendred not heaven for the same unjust they meane for not rendring a just and equall reward Where fore howsoever some like snailes when they are touched doe pull in their hornes yet this undoubtedly is the Tenet of the learned Papists at this day Opera bona justorum meritoria esse ex condigno non solum ratione pacti sed etiam ratione operum that the good workes of the righteous are condignely meritorious not onely in regard of the covenant but also in respect of the workes themselves As for those who heretofore have denyed the absolute merit of condignity and have held either merits of congruity onely or onely ex pacto they are censured by some of the learned among them to have differed from us in words but in deed to have agreed with us But as for us we acknowledge no merits of eternall life but the merits of Christ onely and wee doe constantly hold and confidently professe that no meere man can merit that is deserve at the hands of God the reward of eternall life by any thing or by all the things which hee can doe or suffer in this world § IV. For the handling of this controversie I will observe this order first I will propound our arguments and maintaine them and then I will answere the objections of the Papists And first I will speake of the name and then of the thing neither of which hath any ground in the Scriptures and therefore both the name and the thing of all true Christians who desire not in matters of such moment as concerne our eternall inheritance to bee wisâ—… above that which is written are to be rejected The word mereri properly signifieth to deserve and meritum desert or that which deserveth a reward and that which doth not deserve is not properly and truely called merit Now there is neither in the canonicall Scriptures nor in the Greeke Fathers any word or phrase truely and properly translated which being ascribed to good workes doth signifie or import the deserving of eternall life at the hands of God There are words and phrases importing the reward of workes both good and bad but with this difference that the eternall reward of good workes as it was according to the purpose of grace given unto us in Christ before all secular times and freely intended and preordained and according to the Covenant of grace to them for whom Christ hath merited the same freely promised so it is freely bestowed as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the free gift of God But the eternall reward of sinne as it is justly deserved so it is in justice rendred as the iust stipend or wages of sinne Rom. 6. 23. The wages of sinne is death but eternall life is the free gifâ—… of God § V. The Latine Fathers indeed doe often use the words mereri and meritum both in the better sence and in the worse but with this difference that in the worse sense they use it properly for deserving and desert For sinnes duely and in justice deserve punishment But in the better sense they doe not use the word properly for deserving and desert which every man knoweth to be the proper signification but in other significations and therefore unproperly if not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The verbe is used by them sometimes and indeed very often in the generall sense either of obtayning joyned commonly with the accusative case or of finding favour to have or to get any thing joyned with the infinitive without respect of merit and worth or relation to wages Vocabulum merendi saith Cassander the word meriting among the ancient Ecclesiastical writers for the most part signifieth to obtaine or to be made fit to obtaine The which among others appearâ—…th by that one place of Cyprian For where Paul saith 1 Tim. 1. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but I obtained mercie as the vulgar Latine and Erasmus Cyprian readeth misericordiam merui And so doth Augustine also Thus you see how joyned with an a accusative it signifieth to obtaine First So Ambrose Minus autem mirari debeâ—…us quòd tantam Ioannes gratiam in nascendo meruerit Secondly Ipsa etiam post usum vota fastidio sunt quae mereri optavimus postquam meruimus abdiâ—…amus Thirdly Iniqueus Cain longaevam dâ—…xit aetatem duxit uxorem â—…c meruit promissione divina Fourthly â—…ratiam â—…um ordinareris Episcopus non suscepisti quia gratuitò â—…am non meruisti Hierome Quanto magis egâ—… mereri debeo veniam 1. Aug. confugerunt ad fidem qua misericordiam indulgentia mererentur 2. Talem se Apost confitetur fuisse peccatorem ut omnis peccator propterea dese non desperet quia Paulus peccatorum scil primus meruit indulgentiam Primasius Magna beatitudo est sine labore legis vel poenitentia fidem per solam gratiam promereri But oyned with an infinitive it signifieth for the most part to finde favour Ambrose O aquâ—… quae Sacramentum esse Christi meruisti quâ—… lavas omnâ—…a 〈◊〉 lavaris 1. Augâ—…stine 〈◊〉 â—…vix in illo populo qui de servitute decem miraculis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. And in the samâ—… booke spâ—…aking of Saint Paul prâ—… persecutionibus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meruit appâ—…llari 3. Of Dâ—…vid 〈◊〉 saith Qui Râ—… Prophetâ—…
condignae or Ambrose and Augustines indignae but not worthy or unworthy And what is it not to be worthy or to be unworthy but not to deserve Yea Bellarmine himselfe both in his second and third chapters endevoureth to prove merit from all those places where the word worthy is used for dignum esse praemio saith he mereri pr aemium idem sunt bee worthy of reward and to deserve it are all one Therefore according to this translation which with the Papists is the onely authenticall text of Scripture the Apostle teacheth that the sufferings of this life deserve not the life of glory Neither is it materiall whether we read worthy of it or worthy to it that is equall in worth to it or worthy to be compared to it For if they be not worthy to it they are not worthy of it neither can they merit or deserve it The words in the originall are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not worthy to the glory or not worthy to be compared to it Thus Prov. 3. 15. where the Greeke readeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no precious thing is worthy of wisdome the Latine hath non valent comparari they may not be compared with it according to the hebrew So Eccl. 26. 20. alias 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lat omnis autem ponderatio non est digna continentis animae No weight is worthy of her chast mind that is nothing of worth is equall ot to bee compared in worth to it The meaning then of the words is this I resolve saith the Apostle the Greeke is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth that when a man hath cast his accounts and well weighed the matter he concludeâ—…h resolveth determineth as Rom. 3. 28. 6. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of this present time that is the sufferings which the godly sustaine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are not worthy of so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 throughout the New Testament doth fignifie or not worthy to bee compared or comparable or equall in worth to the glory which shall bee revealed in us or upon us § XIX In the former sense these words are a direct and absolute deniall of the merit of condignity For if the passions of this life are not worthy of eternall life then much lesse the actions of this life For by the sufferings of this time Martyrdome is chiefely meant Now the Papists teach that the merit of a Martyr is greater than of a Confessor that by it as Infants by Baptisme those which suffer though not before baptized are purged from their sinne and are immediately translated into heaven And yet of them Saint Augustine saith nullo modo superbiant sancti Martyres tanquam dignum aliquod prâ—… illius patriae pâ—…rticipatione fecerint ubi aeterna est vera faelicitas Let not the holy Martyrs by any meanes bee lifted up with pride as though they have done something for the participatioâ—… of that countrey where is eternall and true felicity Bellarmine who telleth us that wheresoever in the new Testament there is mention of worthinesse there merit is meant is faine to â—…lee from the signification of unworthinesse to the second sense importing disproportion and inequality signifying though hee doth not very well exprâ—…sse himselfe when hee saith that the Apostle speaketh of the substance of the workes not of the absolute proportion that howsoever they bee unequall yet they are not unworthy of eternall life So that this inequality he understandeth not in respect of worth but in respect of length and greatnesse Whereto I reply first if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every where in the New Testament signifieth worthy and worthinesse implyeth merit as Bellarmine teacheth then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fignifieth non condigna as their own authentique translation readeth that is they are not worthy which is all one as as if it were said they deserve not nor merit the future glory Oecâ—…menius upon the place saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostle sheweth that we are not able either to suffer or to conferre any thing worthy the remnueration that is there Ambrose The Apostle that hee might exhort us unto suffering addeth this reason because all things which we suffer are lesse and unworthy for the paines whereof there should be rendred so great a reward of future good things Eusebius Emissenus Ergo totis licet animae corporis laboribus desudemus totis licet obedientiae viribus exerceamur nihil â—…amen condignum merito pro coelestibus compensare afferre valebimus Non valent viâ—…ae prâ—… sentis obsequia â—…terna vitae gaudiis comparari Lassescant licet membra vigiliis pallescant licet ora jejâ—…niis non erunt tamen condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuraâ—… gloriam c. Athanasius In vita Sancti Antonii cited by Bellarmine neâ—… 〈◊〉 orbi renunciantes dignum aliquod habitaculis possumus compensare câ—…lestibus Augustine Quanto labore dignâ—… est requies quae non habet finem Si verum vis comparare verum judicare aterna requies â—…terno labore rectâ—… emitur See the testimony of Gregory cited § 2. of this chapter Secondly if they bee unequall if there be a great or rather infinite disproportion betweene our short and light asflictions and the eternall superexcellent weight of glory then cannot our sufferings merit eternall life For betweene the merit and the reward there must bee some proportion of equality Wherefore this text as in the former sense it directly contradicteth the merit of condignity so in the latter it doth disprove it by necessary consequence For condigne merits are equall to the â—…ward the sufferings of this life are not equall to the future glory therefore they doe not merit eternall life § XX. Neither will it helpe our Rhemists nor â—…ellarmine himselfe to salve their errour with blasphemy The note of the Rhemists upon the word condigne is this Our adversaries groâ—…nd hereon that the workes or sufferings of this life be not meritorious or worthy of life ever lasting where the Apostle saith no such thing no more than he saith that Christs passions be not meritorious of his glory hee expresseth onely that the very afflictions of their owne nature which â—…e suffer with or for him â—…e but shâ—…rt momentaâ—…y and of no account in comparison of the recompeâ—…ce which we shall have in â—…eaven No more indeed were Christs paiâ—…es of their 〈◊〉 nature compared to his glory any whit comparable yet they wâ—…re â—…eritorious 〈◊〉 worthy of heaven and so be ours Where they seeme to put no difference betweenâ—… the Head and his members If Christ did merit his glory by his short fufferings then doe we if wee doe not then not he But their wisedomes should have considered the obedience of Christ was the obedience of God that is of him who was and is God that the sufferings which hee did sustaine were the sufferings of God
Master of the vineyard though he gave the day-penny to them that wrought but one houre which was as much as he gave them that wrought twelve houres yet was not unjust therin For in that which is free and meerely of grace there is no injustice nor acception of persons Indeed where the wages or hire is to bee rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as deserved and earned by the workemens labours it is to bee distributed according to distributive justice But where the reward is free and of grace the rewarder may doe with his owne what pleaseth him GOD especially to whom in all things whatsoever hee doth his will is the rule of justice § XXIV To these hereticall premisses Bellarmine addeth a sutable corollary wherein there is more malice than might Therefore saith hee Augustine saith well If there bee no merits how shall God judge this world wherefore the heresie of our adversaries which taketh away merits doth also take away the article of faith concerning the future judgemâ—…nt Answ. Augustine by merits understandeth workes which are to bee rewarded both the good workes of the godly proceeding from grace sanctifying and helping the Will which he though unproperly calleth their merits and also the evill workes of the wicked proceeding from their free will not freeed by grace which also hee calleth and that properly their merits For whereas there were two sorts of men living in the Monastery of Adrumetium whereof Valentinus was to whom hee writeth who ran into contrary extremes the one so holding free-will that they denied grace the other so holding grace that they denied free-will and which was worse said that at the day of judgement God is not to render to every man according to his works Augustine writeth against both Si non est Dei gratia quomodo salvat mundum et si non est liberum arbitrium quomodo judicat mundum If Gods grace bee not how doth he save the world and if there bee no free-will how doth hee judge the world and afterwards in the place which Bellarmine citeth having denyed against the Pelagians that grace is given according to merits hee addeth these words Non quiâ—… nullum est meritum vel bonum piorum vel malum impiorum aliâ—…quin quomodo judicabit Deus mundum not because there is no merit either good of the godly or bad of the wicked otherwise how shall God judge the world That is if there bee no workes to bee rewarded neither good with blisse nor bad with punishment how shall God judge the world But wee acknowledge that God will render to every man according to his workes rewarding the good workes of the godly which are unproperly called merits both themselves and their reward being the free gifts of God with eternall life and the evill workes of the wicked which properly are called their merits with everlasting death So farre are wee through Gods grace from denying that article of the future judgement whereof the Pope and the Papists seâ—…me to make but a mockery hee granting and they accepting or defending his grant of indulgences and pardons for many thousands of yeeres whereby is presupposed that the day of judgement may perhaps bee so long differred For at the day of judgement when all shall bee adjudged to eternall either life or death purgatory shall bee at an end as themselves teach and together with Purgatory the use of pardons endeth CAP. VI. The Testimonies of the Fathers alleaged by Bellarmine answered § I. NOw I come to his allegation of the Fathers But before I examine the particular testimonies I am to admonish the Reader that hee have an eye to the point in question For that the Latine Fathers doe often use the termes of merit or meriting we doe acknowledge but without any advantage to the Papist For the Papist useth the words in the proper sense for deserving and desert But merits with the Fathers signifie no more but good workes or at the most good works which God will reward that is either simply good workes or with relation to reward And the Verbe tâ—… merit besides the generall sense of obtaining or finding favour which is very frequent they use it more particularly for doing workes of grace which God will graciously reward In which senses the use of the words though unproper were not to bee misliked in the Fathers were it not that the after-writers have taken occasion thereby to use the words properly for deservnig and desert and that in justice for the workes sake as well in good workes as in bad I meane that good workes doe as truely and as properly deserve eternall life as evill workes deserve everlasting death which was not the meaning of the Fathers who meant not that a man doth deserve those good things at the hands of God which by them hee is said to have merited If therefore his allegation bee of merits and meriting used by the Fathers in the former that is the unproper senses as indeed they are hee shall proove nothing but that the Fathers doe not dissent from us And if they serve not to prove either that the works of grace in themselves doe merit that is deserve eternall life as the meritorious causes thereof or that Christ hath by his merits made them meritorious then doe they not at all make foâ—… the Papists against us But I am confident that they are not able to produce any one pregnant testimony of the ancient Fathers affirming either that our good workes doe truely and properly that is condignely merit eternall life or that Christ hath merited for our workes that they might bee meritorious of everlasting life § II. Hee beginneth with the Greeke Fathers of whom hee citeth eight The first is Ignatius Sinite me ut bestiarum esca sim per quam possim Deum promereri Here Bellarmine for a poore shift is faine to make use of a corrupt Latine Translation as it were a puddle leaving the fountaine and the purer streames The originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 suffer me that I may become the food of wild beasts by whom I may obtaine God And so their owne Vairlemius translateth Sinâ—…e me ferarum escam fieri per quas licebit Deum adipisci But the same Latine Translatour doating as it seemeth upon his Helena of merit more than once or twice in that Epistle useth the word merear that I may merit where the Greeke is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that I may finde enjoy obtaine and in the first sentence of the Epistle twice Deprecans Deum obtinui ut videre merear dignos vultus vestros sicut plurimum optabam promereri The Greeke is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Vairlemius rendreth thus Deprecatus Deum obtinui ut viderem divinas vestras facies quas plurimum expetebam And in the third sentence for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Si modo graâ—…iam consequar the Latine Translatour whom Bellarmine followeth readeth Si quidem
addeth if we would not be ashamed at the shewing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of our negotiation as those who had received the Talents nor heare tâ—…ou wicked and slothfull servant but having laid up our wares which before hee called heavenly riches to endeavour to passe through this life safely and securely And this further appeareth by the whole discourse For having said before the words alleaged that to our navigation in this life the gift of governing as it were of our shippe is necessary for we are all Merchants c. for saith hee in the next words after those which I alleaged last many who from their youth have gathered geat store namely of that heavenly wealth in the middle of their life for the want of the skill of governing and not able to withstand the tempests of temptations have made shipwracke which saith he is a miserable spectacle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. That hee who hath prospered in the negotiation of the Commandements should become like a Merchant of great wealth who glorying in the multitude of his wares his ship also failing wiâ—…h a prosperous winde and having passed the dreadfull seas at length suffering shipwracke at the very haven is at once deprived of all The sixth is Chrysostome If God be just hee will render both to the godly and to the wicked according to theirmerits But if he will render both to the one and the other according to their merits and in this life neither dâ—…e receive neither the one the punishment of wickednesse nor the other the reward of vertue it is manifest that there remaineth another time in which they shall have either of them a convenienâ—… reward Here also the force of Bellarmines argument is in the translation For the words which twice hee translateth pro meritâ—…s are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to their worthinesse which is of a larger extent than merit Now men are said to be worthy either of eternall punishment and that in and of themselves by their sinnes or of eternall life but not of or in themselves but in Christ and by grace God accepting of them in Christs worthinesse his merits being imputed to them without any merit of their owne And thus God will repay the wicked for their demerits and reward the godly according to their worthinesse which standeth not in dignitate sua but in dignatione divina as I have said before Howbeit his meaning in this place by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is all one as I suppose with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is according to the quality of their works that is to say rendring damnation to the wicked and salvation to the godly For so in the words going before hee saith that the godly shall receive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rewards of their vertue and the wicked 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in the allegation it selfe hee explaneth what hee meaneth by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to wit that the wicked shall receive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the punishment of their wickednesse and the godly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rewards of their vertue The seventh is Gregory Nazianzen Crede resurrectionem judicium mercedem adjustum Dei lancem exigendam The words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Besides these articles of the Christian faith receive the resurrection judgement remuneration by Gods just balance What is that balance but the righteous Will of God which is the rule and standard of all justice which will render to every one according to their workes that is to say to the wicked everlasting death and to the godly eternall life But merit of condignity was no point of his faith The eighth is Gregory Nissen Denique pro suis quemque meritis ornatum cerno Gregory in that place deciphereth the judgment to come And having described the Iudge and them that are to bee judged I heare saith he the speech as of the Iudge and their answers then followeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are the words which Bellarmine citeth and import no more but this that hee distributed to every one fitting rewards which hee doth particularize in the words following to them that have led a godly life the fruition of the Kingdome but to the inhumane and wicked the punishment of fire and that everlasting And these were his Greeke Fathers whose learned judgements hee hath not alleaged but for the most part the popish conceits of their partiall translatours § III. Of the Latines he citeth eleven Fathers To whose test imonies if it bee remembred that they use not the word meriting for justly deserving but either for obtaining and finding favour to obtaine or for doing that which God will accept and reward or the word merits in the better sense properly for such workes as doe truely and condignely merit or deserve but onely for good workes either simply or with relation to a free reward that is for such good works as God will freely reward it will not be hard to answere Neither will the Papists as I suppose bee ever able to alleage any one pregnant testimony where the word is used in the Popish â—…ense for that which truely properly and condignely deserveth a reward to bee rendred in justice for the workes sake Neither doe we deny merits in the sense of the Fathers but confesse that the good workes of the faithfull are such as God accepteth â—…o reward them And so Vega defineth merit the name of merit saith hee is restrained to those works which God accepteth to some reward And so Augustine useth the word as Bellarmine confesseth to signifie any good act for which wee receive any other thing But let us briefly examinâ—… the particulars And first the testimony of Tertullian which as hee alleageth it is to mee a riddle Orâ—…o meriâ—…orum dispositorum nomine disponetur merita autem cum corpori quoque adsâ—…ribantur ordo quoque corporâ—…m disponatur necesse est ut possit esse meritorum which I cannot assoile though I should read with Pamelius Ordo enim non alâ—…ud quam meritorum dispositor unlesse wee understand the word merits not actively for good workes meriting or obtaining but passively for the rewards obtained For actively merits cannot be attributed to the body which cannot produce any act of freewill and therefore cannot according to the doctrine of the Papists merit But the rewards are attributed as well to the body as to the soule and from thence hee proveth the resurrection of the body out of 1 Cor. 15. 23. The second is Cyprtan out of whom hee citeth two testimonies The former justâ—…tia opus est ut promereri quis possit Deum that a man may obtaine Gods favour there is need of justice wee must obey his precepts and monitions ut accipiant meâ—…ita nostra mercedem that our good workes may receive the reward which God hath promised The other testimony is the last sentence of his Booke de
of Heaven Fifthly that it is a most unjust thing to desire eternall life of God the most just judge before we merit to receive it Where faith he he plainely condemneth all Lutherans who will not by their workes merit eternall life and yet by assurance of faith they presume it shall be given them Answ. If by his word petere he meane desiring by prayer I say we must desire it before we be worthy of it in our selves But Augustine hath the word poscere meaning that no man ought to challeng or demand eternal life as his due before he hath deserved to receive it To which I answere that none can deserve to receive it by their owâ—…e merits and that none but Pharisees will challenge it But yet all that truely beleeve in Christ doe in him deserve it yea in him they have it and he that will not beleeve this he maketh God a lyar 1 Ioh. 5. 10 11. and therefore every one that knoweth himselfe to beleeve doth or ought to know that he hath eternall life 1 Iohn 5. 13. He might have added a sixt collection that nothing is more unjust than that God should give rewards to men before they deserve them But this sheweth the unsoundnesse of this Testimony not beseeming Augustine For what God giveth he freely giveth and in that which is gratâ—…itum free there is no unjustice May not God doe with his owne what pleafeth him and therfore no unjustice when he gave the whole dayes wages to them that had wrought but an houre and therefore to such as had not deserved it And if it be unjust with God to give the reward of eternall life to them that have not in their owne persons deserved it what will he say of Gods dealing with the elect infants who dying in their infancie are crowned with eternall life This Testimonie therefore was but the assertion of an ungrounded Divine And yet this Testimonie alone with our Braggadochio is sufficient to put us all to silence Eighthly His allegation of Prosper justificatus homo id est ex impio pius factus nullo praecedente bono merito accipit donum quo medio acquir at meritum maketh wholly against the merit of congruity which with the Pelagians the Papists doe hold but against us it hath nothing except perhaps the word merit which is not against us in that sense that he and Augustine use it for a rewardable worke which before justification men have not but with their justification they receive grace from which what good workes doe proceed are to bee rewarded with eternall life Ninthly the word merit being understood in that sense as undoubtedly it is in all the Latine Fathers we subscribe to the Testimonie of Caelestinus Bishop of Rome as making for us rather than against us For having said Dei gratiâ omnia hominis merita praeveniri that all the good workes of men are prevented by Gods grace hee addeth Tant a est enim erga omnes homines bonitas Dei ut nostra velit esse merita quae sunt ipsius Dono pro his quae largitus est aeterna premia sit donaturus which notably setteth forth the unspeakable goodnesse of God to us but not our desert towards him Tenthly the like is to be said of his allegation out of Gregory on those words of Iob c. 3. 19. Parvus magnus ibi sunt quia in hac vita nobis est discretio operum â—…rit in illa proculdubio discretio dignitatum ut quo hic alius alium merito superat illic aâ—…ius alium retributione transcenâ—…at where he using promiscuously the words opera and merita by merita understandeth opera bona proceeding from grace which hee acknowledged to bee the free gifts of God Wherefore his meaning is no more but this that on those to whom in this life God doth give greater grace he bestoweth in the life to come greater glory Eleventhly in the last place hee alleageth Bernard who in the whole controversie of justification and in this question of merits is wholly ours Out of him he citeth two Testimonies The former Merita habere cures habita data noveris perniciosa paupertas penâ—…ria meritorum Answ. Bernard useth ordinarily the word merit unproperly according to the use of the Latine Fathers meaning thereby good workes and that either simply or with relation to reward that is to say rewardable workes such workes or merits saith Bernard we must be carefull to have and having them we must acknowledge them to bee Gods gifts the penurâ—… of them is pernicious poverty The other Omne quod feceris bonum malúmve quod quidem non facere liberum sit meritò ad meritum deputatur Answ. That is worthily accounted merit that is a rewardable worke which is free for a man not to doe For what is not voluntary but forced it deserveth not reward But to speake of merits properly as justly and condignely deserving a due and proportionable reward for the workes sake Bernard acknowledgeth no merits but the mercies of God and the merits of Christ denying our workes to be our merits but Gods gifts nor to be merits properly or meritorious causes of our salvation as I have shewed before And these were all the testimonies of the Fathers which Bellarmine thought good to produce which when the Reader hath compared with those which I formerly alleaged let him pronounce secundum allegata probata whether wee or the Papists have the consent of Antiquitie in this great question of merits § IV. But to the testimonies of the Fathers Bellarmine adjoyneth the authority of foure Councels The first whereof is the second Councell held at Aurenge in France Debetur merces bonis operibus si fiant sed gratia qui non debetur praecedit â—…t fiant Reward is due to good workes when they bee wrought but grace which is not due goeth before that they may be wrought which Canon as all the rest is collected out of the writings of Augustine for the confutation of the Semi-pelagians and is to bee understood according to the constant and perpetuall doctrine of Augustine that reward is due to good workes not in respect of the dignity or worth of workes but in regard of Gods Promise Now there is great difference betweene that which is due by desert and that which is due by promise For where a great reward is promised to a small worke the reward is due by promise but not by desert But much more when eternall life is promised to our workes betwixt which there is no proportion Therefore though eternall life bee a reward due in regard of promise yet it is a free and undeserved reward and is therefore called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the free gift of God or as Augustine useth to render it according to the vulgar Latine gratia and that in opposition to the wages or deserved reward of sinne Rom. 6. 23. and
Cantic serm 23. * In Cantic serm 61. Other testimonies not touched by Bellarmine x Answer to thâ—… Iesuits challenge pag. 500. c. y Malone pag. 692 c. * In Rom. lib. 4. c. 4. 1. 2. Hilar. iâ—… Matth. can 20. In Mat. can 5. 9. z Matth. 20. 16. 3. Ambrâ—…s exâ—…ort ad virgines a Psal. 130. 4. 32. 1. b In Psal. 118. serm 20. 4. Basil in Psal. 32. c 〈◊〉 â—…8 9. d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 e In Psal 43. V. ult f Adv. Pelag. lib. 2. 5. Hierome g Adv. Pelag. lib. 1. h Jbid. i Ad Demetriadem k Lib. 17. in Esaiam c. 64. 8. l In â—…sai lib. 6. cap. 13. 7. 7. Macarius and Marcus m Hom. 15. pag. 206. n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 o Sent. 2. p Sent. 3. q Sent. 17. r Sent. 18. s Sent. 19. 8. Chrysostome t In Col 〈◊〉 â—… 9. u Athanas. in vita Antonii August in Psal. 36. conc 2. * In Psal. 32 conc 1. Iâ—… Psal. 83. De verbis Apostoli sâ—…rm 16. In Psal. 109. x Quicquid promisi indignis promisit ut â—…on quasi operibus merce promitteretuâ—… se gratia a nomiue suo gratis dareâ—…ur y Theodoret in Sophoniam c. 3. in fine 11. z Iâ—… Rom. 8. 18. a De vocat beat lib. 1. c. 17. 12. Prosper b Bede in Psa. 23 c In Dominic septuages d In Ioan. 1. e Photius apud Oecumen in Rom. 6. 23. f Oecumen in Col. 1. 12. g Oecumen in Rom. 8. 18. h De Mensurat Crucis B. De justis lib. 5. c. 2. Of the name Merit The first prooâ—…e Eccl. 16. 14. a In Psal. 7. poenit b Deut. 7. 10. Iâ—…s 11. 20. Iuâ—… 20. 10. 2 Chroâ—… 19. 2. Esib. 16. 18. Iâ—…b 6. 2. 11. 6. Heb. 10. 29. His second testimony Heb. 13. 16. c Cap. 3. d In Dedic Eccl. serm 5. For the thing Bellarmines proofes out of the Scriptures De iusâ—…if l. 5. c. 3. e Epist. 1. l. 1. f 1 Tim. 5. 18. g De iustif l. 1. c. 21. §. Deinde h Prâ—…sat in Psal. 31. i De vâ—…rb Apost serm 1. 3. k Cap. 2. Assumption eternall life is the reward of good workes Of the parable Matth. 20. First thâ—…t this â—…rable maketh not for the Papists l Regul cont 255. 256. m Matth. 5. 41. This parable maketh against the Papistâ—… n De vocat Gent. l. 1. c. 17. o Dominic in septuag hom 2. p In Matth. 20. q 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vers 4. u Vers. 4. 7. Bellarmines cavils with Melaâ—…on and Calvin s Câ—…l 3. â—…4 Mâ—…nats cavill Matth. 20. 15. t De juâ—…tis l. 5. cap. 19. u In Mat. 20. Bellarmines second argument The answer * Vid. Lib. 4. cap. 13. §. 2. Bellarm. cavils The places of Scripture weighed Mat. 16. 27. Rom. 2. 6. Apoc. 22. 12. â—…uk 6. 38. x Lex tâ—…lionis y Iam. 3. 1. 1 Cor. 3. 8. Iam. 2. 13. z Greg. Moral lib. ult cap. ult a Luke 7. 47. b Lib. 7. cap. 4. §. 12. cap. 5. §. 11. c Lib. 7. cap. 4. §. 12. cap. 5. §. 11. d Matâ—…h 25. 21. e Inst. lib. 3. c. 18. §. 1. f Ephes. 2. 10. g Matth. 7. 14. Act. 14. 22. Heb. 12. 1. That good workes be causes Bellarmiâ—…e proveth from the causall particles These particles not alwaies causall Gen. 12. 1. 3. h Itaque ex eo quod Deus absolutè promisit Abrahae multiplicationem posteritatis and so blessednesse to all the faithfull in his seed non sequitur ut Abraham eam non verè mer â—…erit immo sequitur ut meruerit cum Deus per â—…jusmodi medium promissioâ—…em suam implere decreverit i Eph. 1. 4. k 2 Thess. 2. 13. l Act. 26. 18. m Heb. 12. 14. Bellarmines fourth argument from the reward rendred in justice The first answerh to the proposition a Deut. 32. 4. Psal. 145. 7. Psâ—…l 11. 7. Rom. 9. 14. b Psal. 19 9. Psal. 19. 137 138. c 1 Thes. 5. 24. d Nehem. 9. 8. e Cic. de offic f Eph. 1. 11. g Gen. 14. 22. h 2 Pet. 1. 1. The alleagedplaces examined 1. 2. i De gratia lib. arb 3. k Esai 49. 15 16. 4. 5. l 2 Tim. 1. 12. m De graâ—…ia lib. arb His fifth â—…rgument that life is promised on condition of workes n Act. 17. 25. o Rom. 11. 35. â—…ellarmines sixth argument from those places which mention worthines p In Psal. 118. â—… serm 20. q In Esai l. 6. in cap. 13. 7. r In Rom. 8. 18. s In Colos. hom 2. t De compunct ad stelecli u Homil. 53. * Epistâ—…05 â—…05 ad sixtum x Conc. 3â—… y In Psal. 109. z Homiâ—… 3. ad Monachi a In Psal. 7. poenitent b Quaest. 135. c In Rom. 8. 18. d De mensurationâ—… Crucis B. e In altercatione cum Diabolâ—… f In Dedic eccles serâ—… 5. g Ibid. h In Psal. 43. 26. Bellarmines seventh argument because God is a righteous Iudge i Matth. 20. 15. Bellar. cololary that weâ—… who deny merits deny the article of the last Iudgement Epist. 46. ad Valentinum k Retract l. 2. c. 66 67. ep 46 47. lib. degrat li. arbitr lib. de corrept gratia a De iust l. 5. c. 4. In what sense the Fathers use the word â—…erit Greek Fathers Ignatius in Epist. ad Romanos a Inter 〈◊〉 pag 98. b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Iustin Martyr Apolog. 2. anâ—…e medium 3. Irenaeus lib. 4. cap. 72. Origen in Rom. 2. lib. 2. c Rom. 2. 6. Basil. d De Spiritu sancto cap. 24. e In Epist. dedicat ad Episc. Culmens f Homil. in initium Prov. g 1 Tim. 6. 18 19. h 2 Pâ—…t 1. 10. i Rom. 8. 24. k Matth. 25 26. Chrysostome De Lazarâ—… Hom. 4. Nazianzen Orat. in S. Baptism â—…regory Nyssen orat de pauper amandis The Latine Fathers IOpuscul qu. 4. m De gratia lib. 〈◊〉 l. 1. c. 14. §. 〈◊〉 esse 〈◊〉 n De 〈◊〉 rect carnis cap. 48. Cyprian o De unitate Ecclesiae De Opere Elâ—…mos Hilarie In Mat. can â—… p â—…al 682. s. q Mat. 6. 33. r 1 Cor. 10. 31. s 2 Pet. 1. 1. t Iâ—… Mal. can 6. Ambrose De â—…ffic l. 1. c. 15. Hierome Advers â—…ovinian lib 2. Paulinus ad Victricium u Uid supr cap. 4. §. 15. Augustine Epist. 105. * Sicut merito peccatitanquam stipendium readitur mors ita merito justitiae tanquam stipendium vitu aeterna which is repugnant to that of the Apostle Rom. 6. 23. if it be not understood of a free stipend as indeed Augustine doth understand it x Ibid pag. 302. y De gratia lib. arb c. 9. z Ad Sixtum a Supr cap 2. §. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. b De merib Ecclesia cap. 25. c Retractat l. 1. c. 7. Minus memorem scripturarum in quibus non dum assuetus eram d Deut.
that wee are justified by faith alone as hereafter shall bee shewed they could not meane that wee are sanctified by faith alone Secondly remission of sinne which is the not imputing or forgiving of sinne is by Augustine included in the signification of the word which by Bellarmine is excluded who in stead of remission hath substituted the extinction and abolition of sinne So that although he retaine the name which hee confoundeth with sanctification yet the thing thereby signified which is the maine benefit which wee receive from Christ by which wee are both delivered from hell and entitled to heaven hee hath taken away as I have heretofore declared If this answere doe not content the Papists let them understand that when the use of any word in the Fathers borrowed from the Scriptures differeth from the perpetuall use thereof in the Scriptures wee are bound to follow the infallâ—…ble authority of Gods Word rather than the testimony of any man or men whatsoever And for this wee have Augustines owne warrant who challengeth liberty to reject in other mens writings though never so learned andholy what is not agreeable to the Scriptures Talis ego sum saith he in scriptis aliorum tales volo esse intellectorâ—…s meorum § X. I come to his reasons which are three The first in every motion or mutation there are two termini a quo and ad quem the name being taken from the latter as in illumination there is a change from darknesse to light in calesaction from cold to heate Iustistcation is a mutation or change Therefore in justification there are two termini a quo sc. peccatum ad quem justitia from which it hath his denomination and therefore besides remisston of sinne there must accrew righteousnesse I answer that mutations are either reall or relative If hee speake of reall mutations I deny the assumption for I have proved before that justification is no such mutation If hee speake of relative mutations I grant the syllogisme for even in such there are two termini as in liberation terminus a quo is bondage ad quem is freedome in marrying the change is from being a Batchelor to bee a Husband from being a Maid to bee a Wife so in Reconciliation Redemption Adoption and so also in justification there is a change from guilt of sinne to righteousnesse imputed from being guilty of sinne and damnation to bee accepted as righteous unto life from being the bondslave of sinne and Satan and obnoxious to hell and condemnation to bee not onely made a free-man but also a Citizen of Heaven In all these are great changes yet not reall or positive whereby any inherent forme either going before is abolished or new acquired but onely relative § XI His second reason may thus bee framed If justification bee given to us of God not onely that wee may escape the paines of hell but also that wee may obtaine the rewards of the heavenly life then justification doth not consist onely in the remission of sinnes which onely freeth from punishment but giveth not glory but the former is true therefore the latter Ans. All this wee freely confesse but first the thing principally intended that to justification besides remission of sinnes renovation concurreth hee doth not goe about to prove Onely hee proveth that justification doth not consist in remission onely in which wee agree with him though not in the other thing which is to bee added for wee adde making righteous by imputation hee by infusion or renovation Secondly the proofes of his assumption wee doe not approve The first Rom. 6. 22. yee have your fruit unto sanctification but the end everlasting life The whole verse is this But now being made free from sinne and become servants to God that is being redeemed or justified ye have your fruit unto holinesse that is the fruit of your justification is your sanctification and the end of both is glorification or everlasting life For this text doth neither prove that justification is not remission of sinne onely not that it is to bee confounded with sanctification which is here made the fruit of it nor that it conferreth everlasting life For if the holy Ghost speaking of justification had mentioned onely remission of sinne without mentioning any other thing concurring thereunto as sometimes hee doth Act. 13. 38 39. 26. 18. Rom. 4. 7 8. his meaning might be that being freed from sinne and mancipated to God that is redeemed for manu capti and servati are mancipia and servi and to bee redeemed is to have remission of sinnes Eph. 1. 7. Col. 1. 14. yee have the fruit of your redemption unto sanctification according to that Luk. 1. 73 74 75. and the end both of your redemption and sanctification everlasting life his second proofe is Rom 8. 30 whom hee hath justified hee hath glorified for so might I say to whom hee hath given remission of sinnes to them hee giveth the inheritance Act. 26. 18. them he maketh blessed Psal. 32. 1. them hee justifieth Rom. 4. 6 7. Act. 13. 38 39. and them hee glorifieth And whereas hee saith that in that order of causes set downe in that place every latter is the effect of the former as glorification of justification justification of vocation vocation of predestination that may bee a reason why in that serie causarum sanctification is left out because it is not the cause but the way to glorification Eph. 2. 10. and the cognizance and character of them that shal be glorified Act. 20. 32. 26. 18. his third proofe out of 2 Tim. 4. 8. there is a Crown of righteousnesse laid up for me is nothing to the purpose For as Augustine saith donando delicta fecit se Coronae debitorem by pardoning offences hee oweth the Crowne and Bernard there is a Crowne of righteousnesse which Paul expecteth sed justitiae Dei non suae but of Gods righteousnesse not of his for it is just he should render what hee oweth and hee oweth what hee hath promised § XII But the assumption though not proved by him is approved and granted by us as agreeing with that justification which wee teach and disagreeing from that which is taught by the Papists For wee teach that in justification by imputation of Christs righteousnesse wee are both freed from the guilt of sinne and damnation and also are in Christ accepted as righteous and as heires of eternall life And further wee teach that howsoever the parts of justification viz. remission of sinne and acceptation unto life in the faithfull and the causes thereof in Christ that is to say his bloud and his obedience doe alwayes concuâ—…re for whosoever hath remission of sinnes is also accepted unto life and contrariwise and our Saviour in his obeying suffered and in his sufferings obeyed yet the causes in Christ and effects unto the faithfull are to bee distinguished For by imputation of his sufferings properly wee are freed from punishment