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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	faith_n	impute_v	righteousness_n	3,744	5	8.8004	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56727	A brief vindication of free grace ... relating to several positions asserted by M. John Goodwin in his late book entituled, Redemption redeem'd, and in his former treatise of justification : delivered in a sermon before the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city of London, at Pauls, May 30, 1652 / by John Pawson ...	Pawson, John, 1619 or 20-1654?	1652 (1652)	Wing P880; ESTC R13411	24,080	30

is apparently our own righteousness but Paul in point of Justification utterly disclaims his own righteousness Phil. 3. 9. He desires to be found in Christ not having his own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith In which Text the Apostle does not distinguish self-righteousness into two sorts disclaiming only one of them but he distinguishes inter propriam justiciam alienam discaiming utterly all self-righteousness of what sort soever as a law-righteousness and laying hold upon anothers righteousness i. e. Christs This seems clear from the antithesis that I may be found in Christ not having mine own righteousness i. e. in Christ's righteousness not in mine own Not having mine own righteousness sayes the Apostle but that which is through the faith of Christ or what if we construe it thus Not having mine own righteousness but that of Christs through faith the Originall will bear such a construction though I will not ground upon it However this is clear from that latter part of the verse the righteousness which Paul rested upon is such a righteousness as comes in through faith and by faith therefore faith is neither it nor any part of it When faith is said to justifie or to be imputed for righteousness it is not meant faith of it self but faith in regard of its crucisied object That we do not speak this gratis but upon Scripture grounds we will instance in a chapter where the Apostle expresses himself fully and punctually to the very case in hand it is Gal. 3. one of the most pregnant places which the promoters of To credere make use of where indeed Paul affirms that we are justified by faith and that faith is imputed for righteousness But we shall find that Paul in that very chapter uses the word faith again and again for the object of faith so v. 23. before faith came we were kept under the law c. and again v. 25. after that faith is come we are no longer under a Schoolmaster By the coming of faith is here undeniably meant the coming of the object not the act of faith and so twice in that chapter v. 7. 9. they are said to be the children of Abraham who are of faith i. e. they who are of Christ by faith So that we see the Apostle in this very chapter wherein he speaks of justification by faith uses the word faith in a relative and metanimical sense as it imports Christ Now add hereunto that faith in a proper sense To cred●re the very act cannot be imputed for righteousness cannot justifie as the arguments before evince 'T is true faith in a proper sense is faith in Christ and so includes Christs righteousness as the object of it but yet we must distingnish betwixt the act and the object though the act cannot be without the object and so the adversaries themselves do when they say that To credere is imputed and not Christs righteousness they do in those very words distinguish betwixt the act and the object as we do Only the thing in question betwixt us is whether we be accepted righteous for that act of ours of which Christs righteousness is the object or for that righteousness of Christ upon which our act is terminated or for both taken together The first makes our act the thing for which we are righteous Christ only the object of it so establishes a self-righteousness wholy The last makes us to be accepted righteous for a righteousness from two distinct subjects our selves and Christ which cannot be and beside it establishes a self-righteousness in part which must not be The middle way only attributes all to Christ when we rely for justification not upon our own act but upon Christs righteousness the object of it To shun all ambiguity in terms we mean in plainer terms thus There is an apparent difference betwixt believing in Christ and Christ believed in We are not justifyed by our believing in Christ but by our Christ believed in even as we are not clothed by puting on the garments but by the garments put on nor cured by applying the plaister but by the plaister applyed Christs righteousness is not only the object of that act which is imputed to us for righteousness but it is the very thing the formal cause the formalis ratio that makes us righteous in point of justification To say that only the merit of Christs righteousness not the righteousness it self is imputed to us even as the demerit of Adams sin not his sin are both spoken gratis they tend to prove that Christ merited that faith might be accepted which is such another shift as that of the Papists Christ merited that we might merit and therefore there is subtlety enough in so saying but no truth in it For unless the sin of Apam and the righteoufnes of Christ be imputed the demerit or merit cannot one being the foundation of the other and inseparable Beside 't is contrary to that of the Apostle Rom. 5. 19. As by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many righteous We are sinners by Adams disobedience not by the demerit of it only his very act of disobedience is imputed to us not only the demerit of it and so for Christs obedience and it stands with reason for Adam bare the person of all mankinde and therefore his act was ours Rom. 5. 12. In whom all have sinned says the Apostle speaking of Adam Our Translation renders it forasmuch but in the Original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In whom all have sinned As a father selling or forseiting his estate his act is the act of all his posterity so it is in this case the very disobedience of Adam is imputed to us as our sin not only the demerit of it and likewise the very obedience of Christ is imputed to us for our righteousness not only the merit of it Rom. 4. 6 11. in both verses a righteousness is said to be imputed now there is no righteousness any where to be found but the righteousness of Christ Beside 't is said a righteousness is imputed now imputation properly is when something that is in another person is reckoned and accounted ours set upon our score our account though indeed not in us but in another person That this is the signification of the word appears from that of Paul to Philemon v. 18. If Onesimus ow thee any thing put that to my account 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the same word which before and elsewhere is used and translated impute and so both Reza and the old translation render this Text if Onesimus owe thee any thing illud mihi imputato impute it to me or set it upon my account as we read it Thus the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us set upon our account reckoned upon our score though not a thing in us of our own If thus

2 4. Being justified freely by his Grace c. Justified freely The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without any price without any valuable consideration importing that we are justified gratis without any price without any valuable consideration on our own part from our selves For the vindicating of Free Grace in point of Justification I shall endeavour to clear this Proposition That nothing in our selves is of any valuable consideration in point of justifying us The Papists say our works are but that is an opinion now dead among us and therefore let it lye Others say our faith is What the Papists attribute to works these upon the matter attribute the like to faith to To credere They express themselves to this effect * In the same way that God required perfect obedience M. 1. Goodw. In putat of Faith part 1. page 14. in the first Covenant he now requires faith insteed of it in the second Covenant so that as works should have justified them before the fall so Faith now Christ in dying say they * did not Idem ibidem part 2. p. 33. bear the curse of the Law for us but only obtain that God should justifie us upon other terms then before i. e. by accepting faith for our righteousness In opposition hereunto I shall endeavour to prove that as faith of it self hath no such worth in it so Christ hath not purchased any such worth for it that it should be accounted or pass for righteousness How harmless soever this opinion seem at first view yet if we thorowly examine it and the consequences that attend it we shall find that it does in the issue attribute too much to self and too little to Christ and that it derogates from Free Grace and is contrary to the Gospel way of Justification I deny not but that Faith is a Gospel condition without which we cannot be justified yet not an immediate condition the very performance whereof is our righteousness but such a remote conditio as the performance thereof gives us interest in the righteousness of Christ the Lord our Righteousness 'T is not a condition so as works were before the Fall for the performance of works was that wherein righteousness before the Fall was to consist formally If faith succeed works in such a sense as being instead of works as some affirm then the performance of faith does make formally righteous if so then we may plead our faith at Gods Tribunal in the great day as Adam if he had not fallen might have pleaded his performance of works But this cannot be for 1. When we appear before God's judgement seat we must plead such a righteousness as will countervail and answer God's justice we cannot be justified but by a righteousness that will answer Justice for God is just in justifying Rom. 3. 26. therefore such a righteousness must be found out either inherent in us or imputed to us as is every way perfect that so God in justifying of us for such a righteousness may appear to be a just justifier Now the righteousness of Christ imputed to us is such a perfect righteousness as will fully answer the justice of God But for our faith 't is so far from being a perfect righteousness that it is not a perfect faith That is perfect to which nothing can be added but our best faith stands in need of addition and increase The Apostles pray'd Lord increase our Faith our faith therefore is not perfect much less a perfect righteousness To say it will find acceptation in mercy though not approbation in justice and so pass for righteousness upon that account is to make Gods mercy shut out his Justice whereas Gods great designe was to manifest both those attributes in the justification of man not only though chiefly his mercy but likewise his justice This appears by that fore alledged place Rom. 3. 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth or appoynted c. That God would admit of any Redemption for us and that he would likewise provide and appoint a Redeemer herein was Grace and Mercy manifested But yet you shall see he had an Eye likewise to the manifestation of his Justice for it follows in the next words whom he set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness or his justice that he might be just This is quite contrary to that passage forecited out of the promoters of To credere Christ in dying say they did not bear the curse of the Law for us i. e. satisfie justice in our steed but only obtain'd that God should ust fie us upon other terms 1. e. accept of our faith for righteousness No says Paul Christ did satisfie justice for us God appointed him to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a propitiation which argues satisfaction and appeasment of Justice and God so ordered it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the declaration of his justice that he might be just or that he might appear to be just in justifying as Paroeus clears that place Should Christ only obtain of God to accept of imperfect faith in stead of perfect righteousnes how would there be any manifestation of justice in it yea consider wel whether there would be any truthherein if that should pass for righteousness which is not so indeed Rom. 2. 2. the judgement of God is according to truth that which is not righteousness cannot be judged and esteemed so before God Indeed there is in some sense a difference betwixt Gods judging according to justice and according to mercy But Gods judging according to mercy is not judging a person perfectly righteous for a righteousness which is imperfect but for a perfect righteousness which is not his own In this judgement there is both truth and mercy Truth in that God esteems us perfectly righteous for that righteousness which is every way perfect even the righteousness of Christ Mercy in that he esteems us righteous for that righteousness which is not our own only by imputation ours and of his providing for us When God judges declares or esteems us righteous 't is for some righteousness in us or imputed to us we cannot be righteous but by a righteousness faith is not a righteousness 2. If faith were a righteousness it would be a self righteousness for faith is mentioned in Scripture as a thing that is our own Mer. 10. 5. Thy faith says Christ to Bartimeus Col. 1. 4. I have heard of your faith When we believe it is not God believes in us though we do it by his sepcial assistance though it be done by grace in abling assisting not by strength of Nature yet it is we that do it and the act is properly ours and being so if we were justified by it there would be place for our boasting in it more or less If To credere deserve the name of a righteousness 't

the world for he elected us so soon and therefore God's love electing does not stay for our believing free grace was up and at work more early then so The decree of election is no impediment and therefore should Appl. 1. be no discouragement to any No decree of God causes any to sin nor will damn any that repent and believe whoever perish t is because of their not-believing not because of God's not-electing and therefore to reason thus God's decree must be fulfilled upon me therefore no matter what I do nor how I live it argues both a wicked heart and a weak head it argues a wicked heart forwhen men once begin so to reason 't is a signe they are resolv'd to sit down in their wicked ways and to run a hazard for salvation and then it argues a weak head for as 't is an argument of wisdom to use fit meanes for obtayning an appointed end so 't is an argument of weaknes from the appointment of the end to infer a neglect of means 't is as if Hezekiah after notice of God's purpose to prolong his life 15. years should thereupon have determined neither to eat nor drink thenceforward A decree about the end does not exclude but include the use of means though God had decreed to save all those that were in the ship with Paul and had revealed so much to Paul Act. 27. 24. yet the Apostle crys out ver 31. except the Mariners abide in the ship ye cannot be saved notwithstanding the decree of election without faith and holiness no man shall see the Lord. Let none presume they can be saved by election without a closeing with Jesus Christ and let none doubt but they are elected if they feel that they close with Jesus Christ upon Gospel-terms this is making our election sure a true sense and feeling that we rely firmely upon Christ and indeavour unfeignedly to be conformable to Christ is a good assurance of our election if we can find the law of God writ powerfully in our hearts we may be assured our names are writ infallibly in the booke of life The decree of election as it is no discouragement to any so 't is App. 2. an exceeding incouragement to believers when they labour and groan under the pressures of the world the weaknesses of the flesh the out-breakings of corruption the in-breakings of Satan what an incouragement is this to consider that their salvation is not founded upon their own changeable wills but upon the will of God which is unchangeable All our own foundations would have been unsure but the foundation of the Lord is sure and this is that foundation Let Conscience Law Sin Hell and Devils bring in all their strength we are more then Conquerours saith Paul Rom. 8. 37. why what 's the reason This is one reason who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ver 33. election is one ground of confidence and incouragement to a believer that hath made his election sure 2. I proceed to the next link in the Chain of our Salvation which is Redemption And this likewise is made out of free Grace Eph. 1. 7. in whom we have redemption through his Blood according to the riches of his Grace Mark how the Apostle in this Eph. 1. passes from one link of the Chain to the other from Predestination and Election to Redemption fastning both the links upon the same persons Whom the Father before the Foundation of the World Elected to the praise of the Glory of his Grace ver 6. those the Son in the fulnes of time Redeemed according to the riches of his grace ver 7. whom the Father out of free Grace elected he gave them to the Son and the Son out of free Grace redeems them and gives eternal Life to them 'T is said John 17. 2. that the Son was to give Eternal Life to as many as the Father gave him To as many therefore not to any more Some the Father did not give to Christ in the sense spoken of for Joh. 6. 39. Christ tells us that of all which the Father hath given him he would lose nothing but raise it up at the last Day i. e. to eternal Life as the next verse explaines it Christ loses none that the Father gave him and therefore they who everlastingly miscarry the Father never gave them to Christ and consequently Christ never gave himself for them That place John 17. 12. does not prove that the Son of predition was one of those the Father gave to Christ but rather the contrary for the sense may and compared with John 6. 37 39. must run thus viz. Those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost but the Son of perdition is lost i. e. As he is none of those that thou gavest me the term but being here taken not by way of exception but by way of opposition as it is else where in Scripture Luke 4. 26 27. Gal. 2. 16. Rev. 21. 27. and as we frequently use it in common discourse Nor will that Text John 17. 2. indure to be restrained to * the Idem p. 118. Apostles only where Christ is said to give eternal Life to as many as the Father gave him for the term as many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quotquot is too comprehensive and large to be restrained to so few as the Apostles especially considering 'tis put as a sutable subsumption under that general term all flesh immediately foregoing it would make the lense run thus thou hast given him power over all flesh that he might give Eternal Life to a few Apostles which seems not a little incongruous Indeed at ver 6. Christ begins to speak more particularly of the Apostles and so goes on for some verses But at vers 20. he inlarges his discourse and apparently speaks of all Believers and at vers 24. still speaking of all that ever shall beleive he uses the same form of speech as he did before in vers 2. Father I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may be hold my Glory this word Glory likewise explains what is meant by eternal life in ver 2. i. e. * not Idem p. 117. means of Grace only but Glory it self with Christ in Heaven Father I will says Christ he speaks not only by way of intreaty but as it were by way of demand He had said before Father I have finished thy work and as one that had done his work now he comes to demand his wages what 's that Father I will that they whom thou hast given me may partake of my glory who are they they are the same whom ver 23. the Father hath loved as he loved Christ How is that he loved Christ vers 24. before the foundation of the World From whence this will cleerly follow God did not love onely the Apostles before the foundation of the World therefore they were not the only

it be then let us in point of justification give unto Christ ●pl 1. the things that are Christs and unto faith the things that are faiths 'T is honour enough for faith that it is the grace whereby on our part we have union to Christ and interest in the righteousness of Christ but to make faith it self our righteousness is to attribute more to it then it can bear or will own Set all due honour upon the head of faith but do not break the back of it by laying the whole weight of justification upon it faith is too weak to bear it God hath laid help upon one who is mighty even the Lord our Righteoufness And herein appears the free grace of God in point of our justification that he was pleased to provide Jesus Christ and to accept of his righteousness in our stead that we believing in him should have his righteousness imputed and set upon our account Christ is said to have fulfilled all righteousness and all the righteousness he fulfilled is imputed to us both active and passive doing and dying Not that his passive redeem'd us from guilt and hell and that his active made us righteous and gave us title to heaven but both of them joyntly concurr'd to effect each both of them laid together make up that price which Christ paid that satisfaction which Christ made Though the law doth not require both obeying and suffering yet Christ paying not the idem but the tartundem not the strict debt it self but a valuable satisfaction he might and did put the merit of his obeying to his suffering that so there might be copios●● redemptio and that he might save to the utmost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 altogether and all manner of waies 'T is a material enquiry whether Christs intercession do not come in upon the like account I only hint it This is infinite matter of comfort to Saints that the righteousnes Appl. 2. of Christ who fulfill'd all righteousness is imputed to them for hereby they stand as righteous in the sight of God as the righteousness of Christ can make them yea as righteous in some sense as Christ himself righteous with the same righteousness though not righteous in the same manner He with his own inherent we with his imputed truly ours though not in us And this may be one sense of that if it be understood of Christ in Joh. 4. 17. Therefore have we boidness in the day of judgement because as he is so are we c. If in point of sanctification much more in justification We are just not only for but with the righteousness of Christ that righteousness which will befit only the person of a Mediator God-man by way of inherency may yet befit a creature by way of imputation Nor does the imputation of such a righteousness evacuate the duty of repentance The righteous need no repentance the most which can be forc'd from thence is only that the inherently righteous need no repentance but they who are only righteous by imputed righteousness do Touching the best of Saints though a most perfect righteousness be imputed to them yet sin is inherent in them and therefore repentance needful for them 4. I come to the fourth link in the chain of our salvation which is regeneration whereby we mean Gods making us new creatures or his quickning us with spiritual life And this the Apostlein Esh 2. attributes to Free Grace Having told us v. 1. that of our selves we are dead in sins he explains in the next verses what he means by it not only dead in person because of the guilt of sin but dead in Nature because under the power of sin He does not say dead for sins but dead in sins which implies the former and expresses more and then in v. 5. he attributes our quickning unto grace When we were dead in sins he quickned us By grace ye are saved This quickning of us the Scripture calls Regeneration A man must be born again Joh. 3. 3. and that not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Joh. 1. 13 or born of the Spirit Joh. 3. 8. These Texts compared shew what is the adaequate principle of Regeneration whether man's will or Gods spirit and tells us expresly totidem verbis not the will of man but the spirit of God Imagine Regeneration to be divided into a 1000 degrees yet we must not attribute so much as one of them to mans will but all to Gods spirit For the Scripture puts a flat opposition betwixt them in this point born not of the will of man but born of God or born of the Spirit As in the first birth we do not form our selves in the womb but God as the God of Nature does all So in this second birth we do not form the new-creature in our own hearts but God as the God of grace does all 'T is true indeed when once the will of man is principled and acted by the spirit of God it acts with the spirit Voluntas acta agit and in this sense we need not refuse that former resemblance allowing only one part of a thousand to the will of man and the other nine hundred ninety nine to the spirit of grace in every spiritual act But this is after Regeneration and therefore comes not home to the case in hand Voluntas acta agit sed non agit nisi acta after regeneration the will acts with and in the strength of the Spirit but in the first moment of conversion as to the work of regeneration the Will stirs not it self but lies dead and like the Chaos in the first Creation moves not till the spirit of God move upon it We are by Nature dead in every faculty till the Lord quicken us not only by the Spirits energetical presence but by the Spirits working a new principle in us call it by what logical term you think fittest whether habit or power it is such a principle as the Scripture calls Grace 1 Cor. 15. 10. By the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me By grace here is not meant only the favour or grace of God towards Paul but the grace of God in Paul for he speaks of it as a principle of action within him inabling him for what he did I laboured yet not I but the grace of God And so Heb 13. 9. It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace beside grace towards the person there is grace in the heart whereby the heart is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be established or poysed and made steady In both these places to name no more by grace is meant a principle put into us There is another pregnant phrase which clearly imports that when God regenerates us he puts