Defense of Perkins Book Called a Reformed Catholic, Point 5 · Section 2
The dissent and difference.
The Popish Church placeth merits within man, making two sorts thereof: the merit of the person, and the merit of the worke. The merit of the person, is a dignity in the person, whereby it is worthy of life euerlasting. And this (as they say) is to be found in Infants dying after baptisme, who though they want good workes, yet are they not voide of this kinde of merite, for which they receiue the kingdome of heauen. The merit of the worke, is a dignitie or excellencie in the worke, whereby it is made fitte and inabled to deserue life euerlasting for the doer. And workes (as they teach) are meritorious two waies: first, by couenant, because God hath made a promise of reward vntounto them: secondly, by their owne dignitie; for Christ hath merited that our workes might merit. And this is the substance of their doctrine. From it we dissent in these points.
I. Wee renounce all personall merits, that is, all merits within the person of any meere man. II. And we renounce all merit of workes, that is, all merit of any worke done by any meere man whatsoeuer. And the true merit whereby wee looke to attaine the fauour of God, and life euerlasting, is to bee found in the person of Christ alone: who is the storehouse of all our merits: whose prerogatiue it is, to bee the person alone in whom God is well pleased. Gods fauour is of infinite dignitie, and no creature is able to do a worke which may counteruaile the fauour of God, saue Christ alone: who by reason of the dignitie of his person, being not a meere man but God-man, or Man-God, hee can doe such workes as are of endlesse dignitie eueryevery way answerable to the fauour of God: and therefore sufficient to merit the same for vsus. And though a merit or meritorious worke agree onelyonly to the person of Christ, yet is it made ours by imputation. For as his righteousnesse is made ours, so are his merits depending thereon: but his righteousnesse is made ours by imputation, as I hauehave shewed. Hence ariseth an other point, namely that as Christs righteousnesse is made ours really by imputation to make vsus righteous: so we by the merit of his righteousnesse imputed to vsus, doe merit and deserue life euerlasting. And this is our doctrine. In a word, the Papists maintaine the merits of their owne workes: but we renounce them all, and rest onelie on the merit of Christ.
speaker D. B. P. With the former Catholike Doctrine M. Perkins would be thought to agree in two points. First, That merits are necessary to saluation. 2. That Christ is the roote and fountaine of all merit.
speaker A. W. Master Perkins, in the poynt of our consent with you, meant not merits, as you take them, and as himselfe before had defined them, but onelyonly as good workes, which the ancient writers oftentimes call merits: not because they truly and wholy hauehave the nature of merits, as zAndrad. vbi supra.Andradius speaks of them, but for that they are not performed without labour on our part, and shall hauehave reward on Gods part in heauen.
speaker D. B. P. But soone after like vntounto a shrewd cowe, ouerthrowes with his heele the good milke he had giuen before. Renouncing all merittes in eueryevery man, sauing only in the person of Christ: whose prerogatiue (saith he) it is, to be the person alone, in whom God is well pleased.
speaker A. W. This dealing of yours is more common with you than commendable. He that meant plainly, would take things as they lie, as farre as reasonably he may, and not draw matters out of diuers heads, to confound the readers vnderstanding, and hide the force of his aduersaries disputation. But I must be faine to follow you, though you follow not Master Perkins.
speaker D. B. P. Then he addeth, that they good Protestants, by Christs merits really imputed to them, do merit life euerlasting. Euen as by his righteousnes imputed vntounto them, they are iustified and made righteous.
To which I answere that we most willingly confesse our blessed Sauiours merits to be infinite, and of such diuine efficacy that he hath not only merited at his Fathers hands, both pardon for all faults, and grace to doe all good workes: but also that his true seruants works, should be meritorious of life euerlasting.
speaker A. W. That our workes should bee accepted and rewarded of God, our Sauiour hath merited; but that being imperfect, they should hauehave the true and whole nature of merit, no infinitnes nor diuine efficacie can deserue or procure. For it is a manifest contradiction, that this or that work should hauehave need of pardon, and yet fully satisfie the law of God; and by that satisfaction deserue euerlasting life, as wages, at Gods hands.
speaker D. B. P. As for the reall imputation of his merit to vsus, we esteeme as a fained It is not really in vsus.imagination, composed of contrarieties: For if it be really in vsus, why do they call it imputed? and if it be ours only by Gods imputation, then is it not in vsus really.
speaker A. W. You make your selfe more worke than you need. Master Perkins doth not say, it is really in vsus, but really imputed to vsus; not, as you trifle, by a supposed imputation, but in deed and truth, wee being the members of Christ our head by faith in him.
speaker D. B. P. Further to say that he only is the person in whom God is vvell pleased, Iac. 2. Eccles. 45. Act. 13. Ioh. 16. Rom. 1. Iudicio charitatis, non sidei.is to giuegive the lie vntounto many plaine texts of holy Scriptures. Abraham vvas called the friend of God: therefore God vvas vvell pleased in him. Moses vvas his beloued. Dauid vvas a man according vntounto his ovvne hart. God loued Christs Disciples, because they loued him. Briefly all the Christians at Rome, vvere truly called of S. Paul, the beloued of God. And therefore although God be best pleased in our Sauiour, and for his sake is pleased in all others, yet is he not only pleased in him, but in all his faithfull seruants.
speaker A. W. It is Christs priuiledge to be the person in whom God is fully pleased, as in one who by his excellencie of nature being God euerlasting, and man absolutely pure, deserues his louelove: which all other men attaine to in their measure, not by the merit, but acceptation of their persons.
speaker D. B. P. Novv to that vvhichwhich he saith that they hauehave no other meritte then Christs imputed to them, as they hauehave no other righteousnesse, but by imputation, I take it to be true: and therefore they do very ingenuously and iustly, renounce all kind of merittes in their stayned and defiled vvorkes. But let them tremble at that vvhichwhich thereupon necessarily follovveth. It is; that as they hauehave no righteousnes nor merit of heauen, but only by a supposed imputation, so they must looke for no heauen, By a reall imp…, not a supposed.but by imputation: for God as a most vpright iudge vvill in the end repay eueryevery man, according to his vvorth: vvherfore not finding any …eall vvorthines in Protestants, but only in conceipt: his revvard shall be giuen them ansvverablie, in conceipt only: vvhichwhich is euidently gathered out of S. Augustine, vvhere he saith. That the revvard ca… goe before Lib. 1 de mo…. Eccles cap. 25.the merit, not be giuen to a man before be be vvorthie of it: for (saith he) v…at vvere more iniust then that, and what is more iust then God? Where he concludeth that we must not be so hardly as once to demaund, much Iesse so impudent as to assure ourselues of that crovvne, before vve hauehave deserued it. Seeing then that the Protestants by this their proctour renounce all such merit and desert, they must needs also renounce their part of heauen, and not presume so much as once to demaund it according vntounto S. Augustines sentence: vntill they hauehave first renounced their erronious opinions.
speaker A. W. We are really members of Christs mysticall bodie, and so hauehave an interest in the reall imputation of his merits. Beside, wee hauehave also true, though not perfect righteousnes inherent in vsus, & good works (in some poore measure) sutable thereunto; aSee 12. Art. part. 2. art. 7.according to which we certainly looke for our reward of God; not for the worthines of those workes, but for his gratious acceptance of them and vsus in Iesus Christ.
So that we demaund not our reward before our worke, which Austin (after the phrase of the ancient) calles merits; but denie our worke to bee of such a value, as mans pride would make it. Now to requite your kindnes, I beseech you by the mercies of God, and the louelove of Iesus Christ, that you doe not lay claime to euerlasting life, as the wages of seruants, least it be denied you, as an inheritance belonging to sonnes.
speaker W. P. That our doctrine is truth, and theirs falshoode, I will make manifest by sundrie reasons; and then answere their arguments to the contrarie.