A Treatise of Justification, Book 6 · Chapter 2
CAP. II. Pr…ving that a true justifying faith cannot bee severed from Charity and other graces.
§. I.
THE second question concerning the nature of faith is, whether a true justifying faith may be severed from Charity and from all other graces of Sanctification. The Papists hold the affirmative, we the negative.
The reasons of our assertion, that true justifying faith is ever accompanied with Charity and other graces, and cannot indeed be severed from them, are manifold and manifest.
My first reason is this: All that are regenerate and borne of GodOur first reason: because he that hath true faith is regenerate. have Charity, and other graces of sanctification.
All that truly beleeve in Christ, or, which is all one, that have a true justifying faith are regenerate and borne of God.
Therefore all that truely beleeve in Christ, have charity and other graces of sanctification.
The proposition is thus proved. Regeneration consisteth in the infusion of graces of sanctification, and therfore they, who are regenerate, are indued with those graces.
Seondly, regeneration is the renewing of a man according to the image of God in true holinesse and righteousnesse, Ephes. 4. 24. both which are comprehended in Charity. The former, being the love of God; the other, of our neighbour.
Thirdly, the Papists themselves doe teach, that when men are regenerated in baptisme, there is with faith infused Charity.
Fourthly, as he that hath Charity is borne of God and knoweth him: so he that hath not Charity knoweth not God, and much lesse is borne of him. 1 Ioh. 4. 8..
The assumption: All that have a true justifying faith are regenerate and borne of God. For first, whosoever beleeveth, that I … …vsus is the Christ, is bome of God, 1 Ioh.. 5. 1. Secondly, as many as receive Christ (by faith) to them he gave this, foreign, this priviledge or prerogatiye to be the sonnes of God, even to them that beleeve on his name, who are borne not of bloud nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Ioh. 1. 12. 13. Thirdly, All that doe truely beleeve are the children of God by faith in Christ Iesus. Gal. 3. 26. Fourthly, Faith is a grace of regeneration, which the holy Ghost doth ingenerate and infuse, when hee doth regenerate as the Papists themselves confesse. Neither is it of nature, or from our selves, but it is the speciall gift of God, Ephes 2, 8. for no man can truly say, that is, with a lively and unfained assent of the heart, that Iesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost, 1 Cor. 12. 3. To beleeve, that Iesus is the Christ, the Sonne of the living God, flesh and bloud hath not revealed to any man, but God the Father, who is in heaven, Matth. 16. 16, 17. No man, saith our Saviour can come to me, that is, beleeve in me, (Ioh. 6. 35.) except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him, Iohn 6. 44. and except it be given unto him by my Father, vers. 65. and how given? as a proper fruit of election. For justifying faith is the faith of the elect, 7 …. 1. 1 given unto us when we are called, according to the purpose of God and his grace given unto us in Christ before all secular times, 2 Tim. 1. 9. For those, whom God giveth to Christ by election, they come unto him by faith, Ioh. 6. 37. and so many as are ordained to eternall life, beleeve, Act. 13. 48.
§. II. Secondly, Whosoever…have the Spirit of Christ, dwelling in them Our second reason: because he hath the Spirit of Christ.are …udued with Charity and other graces, which all are the fruits aGal. 5. 22.of the Spirit. who is the Spirit of bHeb. 10. 29.grace; and contrarywise they who have not Charity, have not the Spirit of Christ. For the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of love: God is love, and he that abideth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him, 1 Ioh 4. 16. but he that loveth not, knoweth not God and much lesse dwelleth in him, vers. 8.
All that have true faith have the Spirit cRom. 8. 11. 1 Cor. 3. 16. 6. 19. 2 Tim. 1. 14.of Christ dwelling in them, by which Christ dwelleth in them, and those which have not the Spirit of Christ are none of his, Rom. 8. 9 Faith is the proper worke of the Spirit who is therefore called the Sp…rit of faith, 2 Cor. 4. 13. And therfore those, who are endued with true faith, d2 Cor. 13. 5. 1 Ioh. 3. 24. Eph 3. …7.have the Spirit, by both which Christ dwelleth in us. Againe, all that are the sonnes of …od have the Spirit of Christ, Gal. 4. 6. all that truly beleeve are the sonnes eGal. 3 26. Ioh. 1. 12. 13. 1 Ioh. 3. 24. 4. 13.of God; as hath been shewed. All that be Christs they have his Spirit, for those that have not his Spirit are none of his, Rom. 8. 9. All that truely beleeve are Christs, 1 Cor. 3. 23. both because God hath given them unto him, Iohn 6. 37. & 17. 9, 24. and because he hath bought them with a great price, 1 Cor. 6. 19. and because by faith they are engrafted and united unto him as his members.
Therefore all that have true faith, are endued with Charity and other graces.
§. III. Thirdly, all that are sanctified are endued with Charity andOur third reason, because he is sanctified. other graces, for in them our sanctification doth consist.
All that have true faith are sanctified. For first, by faith the heart is purified, Acts 15. 9. and true faith worketh by love, Galathians 5. 6.
Secondly, because all that are justified are also sanctified. All that have a true faith are justified, therefore all that have a true faith are sanctified. The proposition can in no sort be denied by the Papists who confound justification and sanctification. But though they must necessarily be distinguished, yet they may not, they cannot be severed. They are such unseparablecompanions, that whosoever hath the one, hath the other and whosoever hath not both, hath neither: whosoever is in Christ (as all the faithfull are) is a new creature, 2 Cor. 5. 17. he liveth not after the flesh but after the Spirit, Rom. 8. 1. He crucifie…h the flesh with the lusts thereof, Gal. 5. 24. This truth is confirmed by the oth of God, whereby he hath promised in the covenant of grace, fLuk. 1. 73, 74, 75.that to all the faithfull the sonnes of Abraham he will give them redemption and justification, and being redeemed hee will give them grace to worship him in holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the dayes of their life. Those therefore whom God doth justifie by faith, he doth sanctifie by his Spirit.
But all that have a true justifying faith are justified, and by their justification have right, or are entituled to the Kingdome of heaven, Act. 13. 38, 39. yea the Gospell teacheth, not onelyonly that they which truely beleeve shall bee saved, but also that they are translated from death to life, and that they have eternall life. Ioh. 5. 24. & 6. 47. 1 Ioh. 5. 11. 13.Five other reasons.
§. IV. Fourthly, all true disciples of Christ are endued with charity. Ioh. 13. 35.
All that truly beleeve in Christ are his true disciples, therefore, &c.
Fifthly, that which worketh by Charity is not without it:
True faith worketh by Charity, Gal. 5. 6.
Sixthly, The formed faith is not severed from Charity as the Papists themselves teach.
True justifying faith is the formed faith, for that which is without forme is neither atrue nor justifying, but a dead and counterfeit faith.
Seventhly, If faith without Charity doe not justifie, then a true justifying faith is not without Charity. But the former is true, for that faith which is without Charity profiteth nothing, 1 Cor. 13. 2. therefore the later.
Eighthly, out of 1 Iohn 4. 8. hee that beleeveth knoweth God, they that love not know not God, ergo, they that love not, beleeve not.Seven other Arguments out of Iam. 2. 24, &c.
§. V. To these eight arguments wee will adde seven more out of the Epistle of S. Iames, Chapter 2. beginning at the 14. verse: where, he doth not goe about to prove, that a true justifying faith doth not justifie alone, but that that faith, which is alone without Charity, without good workes, doth neither justifie alone, nor at all. And that hee proveth by these reasons:
First, verse 14. True faith doth justifie and save a man, that faith which is in profession onelyonly being void of Charity, or, as Saint Iames speaketh, when a man saith he hat… faith and hath not workes, doth not justifie or save a man, and therefore is not a true faith.
Secondly, à pari, verse 15, 16, 17. Charity which is onelyonly in words and profession, and not indeed and g1 Ioh. 3. 18.truth, is unprofitable and vaine: so pari ratione, faith which is onelyonly in profession, being alone, void of Charity and of good workes, is dead.
Thirdly, verse 18. True faith may be demonstrated by good workes, but that faith which is in profession onelyonly, and void of Charity cannot be demonstrated by good workes, therefore it is not a true faith.
Fourthly, ver. 19. that faith which is common to devils is no true justifying faith, for they beleeve that which they abhorre, whereupon Augustine hIn epistolam Joan. tract. 10.saith, Fides▪ Christiani, cum dilectione est, daemonis autem sine dilectione.
Fifthly, vers. 20. the dead faith of a vaine man is not a justifying faith: that faith which is without charity is the dead faith of a vaine man; therefore not a justifying faith.
Sixthly, ver. 21. 22. 23. 24, 25. True justifying faith is such a faith as was that of Abr…ham, or at least as was that of Rahab, that is, fruitfull of good workes: but that which is without Charity and without good workes is not such a faith as that of Abraham or of Rahab.
Seventhly▪ vers. 26. … simili. as the body without spirit is dead, so that faith which is without good workes is dead. VponUpon these arguments of Saint Iames it doth inevitably follow, that seeing that faith which is severed from Charity, and destitute of good workes is not a true justifying faith, therefore a true justifying faith is not severed from Charity, nor destitute of good workes.
§. VI. These fifteene Arguments, are, as I suppose, without exception.Sixe other arguments defended against Bellarmine. First, out of 1 Tim. 5. 8. Those which Bellarmine thought he could best answere, hee hath propounded as our best Arguments, and cavilled with them: they are in number six, the first out of 1 Tim. 5. 8. That, for want whereof a man declareth himselfe to be without true faith, and to be worse than an infidell, cannot be separated from a true faith.
For want of Charity, yea, for want of one branch thereof, which is to provide for a mans owne, especially, those of his owne house, whom the very insidels are wont to provide for, a man declareth himselfe to be without true faith, that is, in Saint Paules phrase, hath denyed the faith and is worse than an infidell in that particular: therefore Charity cannot be separated from true faith.
To this Bellarmine frameth an answere, against himselfe, that, as Chrysostome, and other interpreters doe witnesse, the Apostle speaketh of such, who are said to deny the faith, because they doe not live, as faith doth teach men to live, (as none doe, who have not Charity, and therefore those who have not Charity, have not faith) who, as the same Apostle saith, iTit. 1, 16.professe themselves to know God, but in deeds deny him: which also is against himselfe: for how, saith Chrysostome, can such a man be said to beleeve, that denieth God? Therefore, saith he, the wicked deny the faith not in heart or mouth, but indeed; and of them, saith he, writeth Saint Gregory, whose testimony he alleageth directly against himselfe, kHomil. 29. in Evang.Eos non veraciter credere, & non habere veram fidem, quinon bene operantur: that they doe not truely beleeve, nor have a true faith, who doe not worke well. And therefore those that worke ill, as those doe who are without Charity, and namely those who provide not for their domesticks, shew that they have no true faith. But this he salveth with another testimony of the same Gregory lHomil. 38.that many enter into the Church, because they have faith; and yet want the wedding garment, because they have not Charity. Where, by faith we are to understand the profession of faith; which many make who have not Charity. But by the wedding garment, we are, according to the Scriptures, to understand rather Christ and his righteousnesse, as I have shewed heretofore, put on by a true and lively faith: for he that was without the wedding garment, wanted faith, as well as charity. The Authour of the unfinished Worke in Chrysostome faith mI… Matth. 22 hom. 41.Nuptiale vestimentum est fides vera, quae est per Iesum Christum & justitiam ejus: the wedding garment is the true faith, which is by Iesus Christ, and his righteousnesse. But will you heare one of their owne Writers, upon Matth. 22. what is, saith he, n1. Ferus in Matib. 22.that wedding garment▪ to wit, that whereof Paul speaketh, when he saith, oRom. 13. 14. Gal. 3. 27.put on the Lord Iesus Christ. This garment is inwardly, put on by faith, when thou puttest on pCum tuis peccat is sup…r in duis C…risti i… stitiam, tu is demerit is ipsius merita, tuae in obedientia ipsius obedientiam. The second out of Iohn. 6. 64.Christs righteousnesse to cover thy sinnes, &c.
§. VII. The second out of Ioh. 6. 64. Iudas, though he professed the faith, is yet said not to have beleeved, because he wanted Charity, and therefore they who want Charity want faith. Bellarmine answereth, that he is said not to beleeve, because at that time he had lost his faith. I reply: Iudas, though he professed the faith, yet he never had true faith, and therefore never lost it. For from the beginning Iesus knew who they were that beleeved not, and who should betray him: for this cause saith he in the next verse, qVers. 6….I said unto you that no man can come to me (that is beleeve in me, vers. 35. and 64.) unlesse it be given unto him of my Father which hee insinuateth had not been given to Iudas, whom from the beginning he knew to be no beleever.
§. VIII. Hee that saith hee knoweth God, namely by faith, andThe …hird out of 1 Iohn 2. 4. keepeth not his commandements, is a lyar. Bellarmine answereth, that he speaketh of the knowledge of familiarity, and friendship: of which the Lord speaketh to the wicked, Matth. 7. 25. I know you not. whereunto I reply, that if he speake of such knowledge it is the knowledge of faith, and cannot be had but by faith, and so the argument standeth in force. Howbeit, unfitly doth he alleage the Lords not knowing of the wicked, to prove the meaning of our knowing of him. If he speake not of the knowledge of faith, the argument is the stronger, for if he be a lyar, that only saith that he knoweth God and keepeth not his commandements, then much more is hee a lyar, that saith hee knoweth God by faith, and keepeth not his commandements. Beda indeed expoundeth this knowledge of God of the love of God, which is a fruit and consequent of our faith, hocest Deum nosse quod amare: but others, of faith, as rIn Ezek. hom. 22.Gregory speaking of this place, notitia quipp… Dei ad fide… pertinet. Oecumenius maketh this verse to bee of the same signification with the sixth verse of the first Chapter. If we say, that we have fellowship with him, and walke in darkenesse, we are lyars: and that which Saint Iohn there calleth foreign Communion, here hee calleth foreign or foreign commixtion or conjunction. Thus therefore hee saith; Saint Iohn having said before that those whichsforeign. beleeve in the Lord have communion or fellowship with him: here hee setteth downe evidences of our communion with him. In this wee know, that wee know him foreign for that which hee had said before,tC. 1. v. 6. that wee have conjunction or communion with him, if wee keepe his Commandements. And this, saith hee, hee more fully sheweth by the contrary: but hee that saith, I know him, foreign or I have communion with him, and keepeth not his Commandements, he is a lyar. This then is …is meaning, he that saith I know God, that is, I have Communion with him by faith, and doth not keepe his Commandements, hee is a lyar. But whether wee understand the words of communion by faith, or of faith, according to the usuall p…rase of the Scriptures puting knowledge for faith, as I noted before,uCap. 1. S. 4. or of knowledge it selfe, the argument is unanswerable. For if wee cannot truely bee said to know Christ, that is, to beleeve in him, unlesse wee keepe his Commandements, then it is evident, that true faith cannot be severed from Charity. For this is love, if we keep his Commandements, 1 Ioh. 5. 3. againe, if hee that saith hee knoweth God and keepeth not his Commandemenes bee a lyar, much more he that saith hee beleeveth in God and keepeth not his Commandements is a lyar, as I said before. To this adde Tit. 1. …6. which Bellarmine cited against himselfe, those that professe themselves to know God, but in workes deny him, they are foreign unbeleevers, Ioh. 3. 36. or as the vulgar Latine incredibiles, or, as Thomas Aquinas, non apti ad credendum.
§. IX. Fourthly, 1 Ioh. 5. 1. Every one that b…leeveth that Iesus isThe fourth out of 1 Joh. 5. 1. the Christ, is borne of God, and therefore undoubtedly hath charity. Bellarmine answereth that he speaketh, de fide formata, as Saint Augustine*Tract. 10. in epist. Ioan. expoundeth, and so doe wee, for whosoever truely beleeveth hath fidem formatam. For the Apostle no doubt speaketh of a true lively saith, and such there is none, but that which the Papists call formatam, which worketh by love. And therefore the argument holdeth: that whosoever hath a true lively iustifying faith is borne of God, or regenerated by the Spirit of sanctification, and therefore is undoubtedly endued with charity.
§. Fifthly, Iam. 2. That faith which i… without workes is dead:The fifth out of Jam. 2. 17. 20. A true lively justifying faith is not dead; Therefore … true liv…ly …ustifying faith is not without works. Bellarmine saith, he hath explaned this in his third argument,xRespons ad obiect. 4. that faith is said to be dead, not as a m… is said to bee dead, who after death is not: but as a body is said to bee dead, which after death is, but liveth not. For, saith he, Life is not of the essence of faith, as it … of the essence of a man: but by a metaphor, saith is said to live, when it worketh, and to bee dead, whe… it worketh not. Even as water is said to bee living, which continually floweth; as in Fo…ntaines and Rivers; d…d, which moveth not, as in standing pooles, and yet both is truely and properly water. Whereunto I reply, that the body of a man being dead is a true body in respect of the generall nature of a body, both because it consisteth of three dimensions, as all true bodies doe, and because it consisteth of all the Elements, as all perfectly compounded bodies doe. But wheras bodies perfectly compounded are subdivided, in corpor a in animata & animata: the dead body of a man, or of a beast, or of a plant, is not a true body in genere ani…, no more than the severall parts thereof, as the eye, the care, &c. because it is deprived of his forme, which is the anima thereof according to his kind. So faith which is dead, may in respect of the generall nature of faith bee called a true faith, because it is an assent to the truth revealed by God: yet whereas assent is either forced, or voluntary, and that either to the Law, which is the legall, …or to the Gospell which is the Evangelicall faith, and this, either unfained, lively, and effectuall, or counterfeit, idle, and uneffectuall: therefore the dead faith being either not voluntary, such as is in the Devils and some wicked men, who beleeve that which they abhorre; or not Evangelicall, as in the Iewes, or not unfained, lively, and effectuall as in hypocrites and unsound Christians, is not a true justifying faith, because it wanteth the forme and as it were the anima of a true justifying faith, which is the inward integrity: for that is actus primus the inward foreign or efficacie thereof, whereby it doth effectually receive, that is, apprehend and apply Christ to the beleever.
It is true, that by a metaphor taken from men faith is said to be either alive or dead: though herein is a dissimilitude; because a man is said to be dead, who before had lived, bu…faith is onelyonly said to be dead not because it ever had lived, but because it is without life, as many things also are by a metaphore said to bee dead, blind, or dumbe, which never did live, see, or speak. But saith he, faith is said to be alive, when it worketh: and dead, when it worketh not. I …ad rather say it is alive when it is operative and energetical, though it do not alwaies actually work, as in sleep: and dead, when it is idle, uneffectuall and unprofitable. But this is nothing to our argument: for if faith without charity, or without workes bee said to bee dead, then a true lively justifying faith, cannot be without charity or good workes; and that which is is not a true justifying faith no more than a dead man is a man: and yet as a dead …n, which is but a carcase, is called by the name of that man whose carcase it is even so dead faith, which is but a carcase, or rather a counterfeit of faith, is called faith, not properly and truely, but ….
§. XI. That faith by which a righteous man shall live is not withoutThe sixth out of H…. 2. 4. Charity:
By a true justifying faith a righteous man shall live.
Therefore a true justifying faith is not without charity.
To the assumption Bell…mine answereth two wayes. First, that a righteo…s man is said to live by faith, because by faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, he patiently supporteth himselfe in expectation of eternall life. To which I reply, that the words are, the just shall live, and that the Apostle more than once alleadgeth that testimony in the question of justification, as Rom. 1. 17. Gal. 3. 11. to prove, that by faith a man is justified, that is entituled to eternall life. Secondly, hee answereth, that the Prophet speaketh of fides formata per charitatem such as is in the just, who by such a faith, as worketh by love, doe live a spirituall life: which answere maketh wholly for us. For if the true faith, whereby the just man shall live, is formed by charity, as the Papists speake, and worketh by charity as Saint Paul saith: then it followeth, that the true justifying faith is never severed from Charity.
§. XII. To these arguments grounded on the holy Scriptures, ITestimonies of Fathers: first, Chrysostome. will adjoyne some Testimonies of the Father…. Chrysostome yforeign. Chrysost. de side & lege. t. 6. 838. 1 De side & operib. c. 23.so soone as you beleeved, you brought forth good workes—for faith in it owne nature is full of good wor…s: and so Cle…ens Alex. strom. l. 5. that faith is foreign, the worker of good things foreign, and the foundation of just working. Augustine, Inseparabilis est bona vita à fide q…a per dilectionem operatur, mo verò …a ipsaest bona vita a good life cannot be severed from faith, which worketh by love: yea it selfe is a good life.
2 Fides Christiani, saith he, cum dilectione est, d…monis autem si…e dilectione, 2 In epist. Ioan. tract. 10. De fide & operib. c. 16.and accordingly he calleth f…ith without workes, the faith not of Christians, but of Devils, Againe, to beleeve in Christ, it is not this to have the faith of Devils which worthily is esteemed to bee dead, but to have that faith which worketh by love. And so he and some others expound that phrase of beleeving in Christ. 3. Ille e…im credit in Christ…m, 3. Aug. in Ioan. tract 9. Sent. lib. 3. dist. 23. August. in Psal. 130. & epist. 85. 4. De paenitent. dist. 2. c. 14. De verbis Dominum serm. 61.qui & sper at in Christum, & diligi… Christ…. Nam credere in Christum est cred…ndo amare. In Christum credere est amando in ipsum tendere. Pi… fides si…e spe & charitate esse non vult. 4. Si fidem hab…t sine spe & dilectione Christum esse credit, non in Christum credit.
Isidorus Pelusi…ta aLib. 3. epist. 73.foreign. Neither doe thou thinke that faith (if that ought to be called faith which is convinced or reproved by thine own work…) c…n save thee.
Oecumenius: bIn Jac. 2.that faith accreweth not to an uncleane person, foreign. I meane a true faith, who will deny? for neither may ointment bee put up into a vessell full of filth, neithercforeign. can the faith of God bee ingendred in an uncleane man.
Gregory dIn evangel. hom. 29.as we heard before, denyeth them truely to beleeve or to have a true faith, who doe not live well. For th…t is true faith, saitheIbid. …e, which that which it saith in words, it doth not gainesay in manners, Hence it is, that Paul speaketh of certaine falsis fidelib…s falsly called faithfull men, who confessefTit. 1. 16. that they know God, but in deeds deny him. Hence, Iohn saith, he that saith hee knoweth God, and doth not, &c. the which, seeing it is so, wee ought to acknowledge the truth of our faith in consideration of our life. For then are we truely faithfull, if what wee promise in words, wee performe in deeds—if a man after Baptisme keepe …hat which he promised before baptisme, let him now, being certaine that he is faithfull, r…joyce: where observe, that those are faithfull (not that are baptized, but that keep their vow of Baptism, and that those that live wickedly are falsi fideles falsly called faithfull. gHom. 22. sup. Ezek. Sent. dist. 25. C.Againe q…antum credi…s, tantum amamus.
hIn Gal. 5.Ans…lm. fides qu… non habet charita… & opera bona, fid…s D…monum est non Christianorum. Faith which hath not charity and good worke… is the faith of Divels not of Christians. And againe:iIbid. fides sine operibus no… est vera fides.
Bernard kSerm. ad past… res in syn…do. De iustif. l. 1. c. 15.: faith maketh a true Catholike not that which i… common to Devils and men, but that which is common to men and Angelicall Spirits: and which is that? that which worketh by love.