Truths Triumph Over Trent, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. Of the instrumentall cause of iustification; and first of the Romane Catholicke doctrine herein.
THE Councell of Trent puts no other instrumentall causeConcil. Trid. Ses. 6. cap. 7. of iustification, but the Sacrament of Baptisme; which (saith she) is the instrument of faith, without which faith, no man could euer obtaine iustification. Where notwithstanding, shee would seeme not altogether to exclude faith, as a party-instrument. But because Baptisme is so vnderstood as an instrumentall cause, as will require rather a particular discourse by it selfe; wee will shew here what allowance they giuegive to faith in iustification. That which the Pontificians ascribe to faith in the worke of iustification, is either, that it is a worke of grace, preparing and disposing a man to receiue the grace of iustification (as being the beginning of other graces, and going before iustification, as appeareth out of the Tre… Councell, Ses. 6. cap. 8.) or else that it is a grace, concurring with other graces infused and inherent; as hope, and charity, and such like, by which ioyntly a man comes to be iustified: otherwise, they allow faith no hand at all in iustification; As may appeare in the Councell of Trent, the sixthConcil. Trid. Ses. 5. cap. 8. Can. 9. & 11. Session, the ninth and eleuenth Canons: Si quis dixerit, sola fide impium iustificari, &c. If any man shall say, that a sinner is iustified by faith alone, &c. And if any man shall say, that men are iustified either by the onelyonly imputation of Christs righteousnesse, or by the onelyonly remission of sinnes, excluding grace and charity, which is shed abroad in their hearts by the holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or also, that the grace whereby we are iustified, is onelyonly the fauour of God, let him bee Anathema, or accursed. Whereupon, Vega in his glosse vponupon this place, sets this downe for his prime conclusion: Certissima Vega de iustisgrat. fide &c. qu. 2. Prima conclusio.fide est tenendum, fidem solam abs que operibus alijs, ne que satis esse ad iustificationem acquirendam, ne que ad tenendam acquisitam: Wee are to hold by a most certaine beliefe, that faith alone, without other workes, is neither sufficient to procure iustification, nor being procured, to preserue it. And what those other workes bee, hee telleth vsus, to wit; first, Baptisme; secondly, the Eucharist or the Masse; thirdly, Penance; fourthly, Confession and Absolution; fiftly, the keeping of the Commandements, &c. And againe: Multipliciter posse hominem iustificari, Vega de pracipua causa iustific. qu. 3.& prima quidem, ac communior magis que protrita via est per poenitentiam: secunda dilectio Dei super omnia, &c. Wee say, that a man may be iustified many waies. The first, and more common beaten way, is by penance: the second, by the louelove of God aboue all: the third, by martyrdome: the fourth, by prayer (no doubt so many Pater-nosters, and Aue-maries vponupon beades, and obseruing Cannonicall houres) the fift, by the Sacraments of the Church; and especially, by Baptisme, Penance, and the Eucharist. Penance, you must note, is in great request in the worke of iustification, being here againe repeated and rancked in the middest, betweene Baptisme and the Eucharist, because in Penance there is not onelyonly Confession, to know what is in the conscience, but satisfaction, to tell what is in a mans purse, if hee will deale by commutation. And in the last place, Probabilis est etiam sexta, vt videtur, via, nempe per fidem: It seemeth also probable, that there is a sixt way, namely by Faith. But this way of faith comes lag in the reare, and it is but probable neyther, nay it doth but seeme probable. The other wayes therefore are their common high-wayes of iustification: this of Faith is onelyonly a way of sufferance, and that in some case of Necessitie; yet with speciall restriction too, as iustifying a man onelyonly from originall sinne, as Vega there addeth: Videtur enim probabile, &c. For it seemeth probable, that if a man be infected only with originall sinne, and so soone as he should come to the vse of reason, hauing heard the preaching of faith, and seene miracles to confirme it, should be willing to receiue it for the sauing of his soule: by this onelyonly, that he giues credit vntounto it, hee should be iustified, and hauehave his originall sinne pardoned. But here, mee thinkes, Vega forgets himselfe in two things: first, that he puts faith in the last place, which elsewhere he puts in the first. Secondly, that he attributes that to faith, to wit, the taking away of original sinne, which eyther was taken away before in the baptized, or if the party were not yet baptized, Faith is not sufficient to iustifie him from originall sinne without Baptisme, eyther infacto, or in voto, in deed, or in desire: Yea, in the conclusion he saith peremptorily, Non fides, sed poenitenti… primas partes tenet in reconciliatione peccatoris: Not faith, but penance hath the chiefe place in the reconciliation of a sinner. For (saith hee) Penance is the immediate cause, or immediate disposition: and as it seemeth, sufficient with Gods grace, to our iustification; yea, it perfecteth and consummateth our iustification. But Faith is not such a neer disposition to iustification, and it remaineth in sinners, and our iustification is but as it were initiated by it. It is euident therefore, that the most potent cause of our iustification, is penance, and therefore that we are iustified, it is to be imputed to it, and not to faith. So he. Nay such is the Pontifician hatred against Faith, that Vega, Trents Interpreter, denyes euen Faith, that is formed by grace and charity (as they say) to bee sufficient to iustification. As he saith, Quamuis eo ipso, quod aliquis per fidem Vega de iustifgrat. &c. qu. 1. propos. 2.iustificetur, fiat fides illius formata, tamen non sequitur, quod per eam, vt formatam, acquiratur iustitia. Et ideo neque debent loca, quae …ribuunt iustitiam fidei, restringi ad fidem formatam: Although a mans iustification by Faith implyeth that his Faith is formed (to wit a true Faith) yet it followeth not, that by it, as it is formed, righteousnesse is obtained. And therefore neyther those places, which attribute righteousnesse to Faith, ought to bee restrained to true Faith, or Faith that is formed. Such a hard conceit hauehave the Pontificians of Faith, formed or vnformed.
But now forasmuch as the Scriptures doe eueryevery where ascribe so much to faith in the point of iustification: howVega de praecipua causa iustif. quaest. 3. Vega's fiue reasons, why iustification is by the Apostle oftner attributed to faith, than to other vertues▪ Aug. ibid. c. 7. doe they answer the Scriptures in this point? Surely Vega, according to his rare dexteritie, vndertakes that taske too, &c produceth fiue reasons, why the Apostle hath done most prudently, oftner to attribute iustification to faith, than to any other vertue. The first is, Because faith is the foundation, and fountaine, the prime cause, and roote of our saluation: which (saith he) St. Augustine hath shewed in his Booke of the Predestination of Saints; alledging Cornelius for an example, whose Prayer and Ames-deeds were done in faith, that by them (saith Vega) he might be brought to the Faith of Christ. Now note here, I pray you, a notable tricke of legier-demain in this Tridentine Champion, who was of one spirit with that Councell. For, doth he giuegive these titles to faith, calling it with the Councell, the fountaine, and foundation, the roote, and originall of our saluation, for any good will hee beares faith, or that herein he preferres it before other graces? Nothing lesse. For a little before, hee had giuen faith such a blow, and that with Aristotles philosophicall fist, as that hee hath made this very foundation to stagger againe. Plus enim quam omni… &c. For (saith he) this is of more weight, than all that are brought for the commendation of faith towards God: that we are more straitly vnited to him by our louing of him, and by sorrow for offending of him, and a purpose to ourPopish vnion. vtmost endeauour to please him for the time to come; then we are vnited by faith. Which being the formost in our iustification, it comes hindmost, and furthest off from perfection: according to that axiome in Philosophy, Priora generatione, posteriora perfectione: The first in generation, the last in perfection. But passe wee to his second reason, which is much like the former, Because (saith he) all our workes which concurre to iustification, hauehave their meritorious force from faith, and faith from none else besides. Thirdly, Therefore is our saluation fitly attributed to faith, because there is no stronger cause to moue a sinner to those things, which on his part are requisite to his iustification. Fourthly, It was conuenient that the Apostles in their Epistles and Sermons should commonly impute and attribute our iustification vntounto faith. Indeede Vega's copie hath sanctification haply mis-printed; sauing that they confound iustification and sanctification together. But why so commonly impute iustification to Faith? namely, because (forsooth) the Apostles had to doe with sundry sects, and therefore were so to attemper their exhortations, as to draw them from their sect, to the Christian Faith. Nor is it lawfull (saith Vega) hence to inferre, that there are no other things better, than those, which are more often commended. So by this reason we are to vnderstand, that the doctrine of iustification by Faith, so often commended, and preached by the Apostles in their Epistles, was not therefore so much and so often pressed and preached, as if it were the best doctrine, but that other doctrines, according to Vega's estimate, might be better: but as if the Apostles only temporized with those times, and persons with whom they had to doe. As if it appertained not to all Abrahams seede by promise, to whose Faith righteousnesse was imputed: nor was it written (saith the Apostle) for him onelyonly, that it was imputed to him; butRom. 4. 24. for vsus also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we beleeue on him, that raised vp Iesus our Lord from the dead. Therefore it isVers. 16▪ by Faith, that it might bee by grace, to the end the promise might bee sure to all the seede, both Iewes and Gentiles,Vers. 12. which walke in the steps of that Faith of our Father Abraham. O Vega, be not so impiously iniurious, yea sacrilegious, to rob vsus of the inheritance of our Faith, vnderunder a colour, as if iustification by Faith had beene a temporary purchase, and merchandize for those Apostolicall times; and as if now the intaile were quite cut off from Abrahams race. Or if yee Pontificians will bee such malignant enemies to iustifying Faith, whereby Abraham and all his seede are, and shall bee iustified to the worlds end; then confesse your selues to bee quite cut off from being Abrahams seede.
His fift reason why iustification is most commonly ascribed to faith, is, because Faith is that only disposition, to which among all our workes, it might principally bee attributed, without perill of our pride, and the iniurie and derogation of Gods grace. For, seeing faith is the gift of God, and a kinde of testimony of Gods grace towards vsus, in as much as it is attributed to our faith, it is attributed to the grace and mercy of God, and not to our strength, that no flesh shall glory in his presence. But why then, Vega, do you teach the doctrine of iustification another way, and the onelyonly way to puffe men vp with pride, and so to empty them of all grace? As Bernard saith, Non est quo gratia intret, vbi iam meritum occupauit: …rn. in Ca…t. ser. 17.Grace findes no way to enter, where merit hath already taken vp the roome. And againe, Deest gratiae, quicquid meritis deputas: That is detracted from grace, whatsoeuer is imputed to merits. Dost thou commend the admirable wisedome of God, in teaching man to ascribe the iustification of Faith to the mercy and glory of God? and yet dost thou adde iustification of thine owne workes, to robbe God of his glorie, and thy selfe of all grace, puffing vp thy selfe with pride in steade thereof? But leaue we these puddles of errour, and come we to the Chryst all fountaines of Christs truth.