A Treatise of Justification, Book 8 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Other Questions concerning merits discussed: as of trust in merits, and of an eye to the reward.
§. I.
ANd yet here is not an end: For still ac ording to his Methode, such as it is, hee hath certaine qu…stions to discusse. In mine opinion, hee being to dispute of merits, if hee had meant to deale plainely and sincerely, should first have shewed what merit is, and what is required to a meritorious worke. Secondly, what sorts of merits there are, and what thereby is merited. Thirdly, whether the good workes of the faithfull bee meritorious or not, and if they be, how farre forth, and then in the last place the two questions might have beene propounded, …s foreign, that seeing, as hee teacheth, good workes doe merit reward; whether it bee lawfull to doe a good worke, having an eye to the reward. Secondly, whether men may trust in their merits. But he first disputeth against us, that the good workes of the faithfull bee truely meritorious of eternall life, which hitherto hee hath endevoured toLib. 5. prove in his first sixt chapters. In the second place, hee disputeth the t…o accessary questions: the one, whether and how farre forth men may trust in their merits, cap. 7. the other, whether it bee lawfull in doing good workes to have an eye to the eternall reward, cap. 8, 9. Then hee commeth to shew against some learned men of their owne side, among whom there is great dissention in this question of merit. First, what is required to make a worke meritorious, and sheweth that to a merit, seven conditions are required, cap. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Secondly, how farre forth good workes are either meritorious or rewarded. Meritorious, whether ex condign…, cap. 16. and if so, whether in respect of the promise onelyonly, or also in regard of the worke it selfe, cap. 17, 18. And as touching the reward, whether GOD doth reward good workes supra condignum, cap. 19. In the last place, what those things are that are merited ex condigno, viz. eternall life. c. 20. and the increase of justice, but not the grace of justification, cap. 21. nor reparation after a fall, nor perseverance to the end, which three are merited ex congruo, as he saith, cap. 22.
§ II. His discourse aDe j…stif. l. 5. c. 7.concerning trust and affiance, whether it be to bee reposed in merits, and how farre forth, serveth to no other purpose, but to answere one of our arguments; and therefore I handled this question, so farre as was needfull, in our eleventh argument. Neither shall it now bee needfull to insist thereupon; first, because having, as I hope, sufficiently prooved, that wee have no merits, it is needlesse to prove, that wee are not to trust in them. Secondly, because Bellarmine confesseth, that by reason of the uncertainety of o…r owne righteousnesse, and danger of vaine-glory (for how can a man trust in his owne merits, when he knoweth not whether hee hath any or not, which is the condition of bNemo absque revela…one certò scire po…est, se habere vera merita, a… in eis in finē us que perseve…aturum.all Papists: or how is it possible, that a man who is guilty to himselfe of sinne, should without pharisaicall pride, trust to bee saved in his owne merits: and therefore to say, it is lawfull to trust in our merits modo superbi… caveatur, is as if I should say, it is lawfull to worship idols with divine worship, modò id…lolatria caveatur) it is cPropter incertitud…em … & periculuminanis gloriae, tutissimum est fiduciam totam in sola Dei misericordia & benignitate reponere.most safe to repose our whole affiance in the merciemercy and bounty of God; whereunto hee might have added, the merits of Christ, by trusting in which wee are taught also to rerepose affiance, not onelyonly in the MercieMercy, but also in the justice of God. And if our whole affiance be to be reposed in Gods goodnesse, then no part thereof is to bee placed in our owne merits: or if our affiance bee to bee reposed in our merits at all, then it is not most safe to place our whole affiance in Gods merciemercy. And if it bee most safe to repose our whole affiance in the goodnesse of God, then are they unwise who place it in their owne goodnesse. But besides the danger of pride, which cannot bee avoided, and of being perniciously deceived, if wee trust to our owne merits as to a broken staffe, wee should also commit horrible impiety in making idols of our owne merits, or rather of our selves. For in what wee repose our trust for salvation, that wee make our God. So should wee s…bject our selves to the curse of God, who saith, dIer. 17. 5.Cursed bee the man, that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arme, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
§. III. His other discourse de intuitu mercedis in the overt intentionOf an eye to reward. De iustif l. 5. c. 8. which is to be had not onelyonly nor chiefly. or pretence, which hee expresseth, is a meere calumniation: in the covert intent, which hee dareth not pretend, it is a meere aberration from the truth. The overt intention is to calumniate Calvin and all true Catholicks, as if wee held it unlawfull, when wee doe any good workes to have in the doing of them an eye to the eternall reward; when it is evident by the very places, which hee alleageth out of eIustif lib. 32 cap. 16 § 3. & cap. 18. §. 2. Anti…ot. concil. Trid. sess. 6. can. 31.Calvin, that he taught nothing in this point, but that which Bellarmine affirmeth to bee the doctrine of the Councill of Trent, and which himselfe acknowledgeth to be true; to wit that it is lawfull in doing good to have an eie to the reward; but that this ought not bee our chiefe respect. For our chiefe respect ought to bee the glory of God, which wee must seeke by a godly life to advance, though there were neither heaven nor hell: but the desire of the eternall reward is but a secondary respect, which is subordinate to Gods glory, and to bee desired for it. Bellarmine saith fDe iustif. l. 5. c. 9 §. ad pri…um.well Cupimus Deum videre, atque ex ea visione felices effici, ut tanto ardentius & securius Deum diligamus. The glory of God we are to seeke, though our profit were not subordinated unto it, and therefore though wee were not to have an eye to the reward. Non sine praemio diligitur Deus, q saith Bernard, Etsi absque praemii intuitu diligendus sit. For those that doe good,g Bernard. de diligendo Deo. onelyonly, or chiefely for the …eward, are led like hirelings by a mercenary respect, without which they would not serve him, which becommeth not the sonnes of God neither doth their obedience or service proceed from the love of God or their neighbours, but from selfe-love; neither is eternall life to bee expected as the stipend of servants, but as the inheritance of sonnes. foreign, saith hDeiis qui putant se ex operi iustificari, sent. 54.Marc…s Eremita, he that doth good and seeketh remuneration only or chiefely, he serveth not God, but his own will; neither doth he love or serve God propter ipsum, sed propter se, not for Gods sake, but for his owne.
§. IV. But that in a secondary respect, after the glory of God, weeBut in a secondary respect. may and ought to have an eye to the eternall reward, it is confessed, or rather prosessed by us. And it is evidently proved, first, by Gods promises o… rewards and blessings, and by his threatnings and curses, which God doth therefore propound, as by threatnings to deterre from evill for feare of the punishment; so by promises to allure us to the doeing of good in expectation of the reward.
Secondly, by plaine direction of Scripture, as Tit. 2. 12, 13. the saving grace of God doth teach us to performe the duties of sanctification in expectation of the happines hoped for. So Luk. 16. 9. Make you friends of the Mammon of iniquity, that when you faile, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Col. 3. 23, 24. servants are to doe, that which they doe to their Masters, heartily, as to the Lord, knowing that of the Lord they shall receive the reward of the inheritance.
Thirdly, By the examples of the godly in the Scriptures, as first of Moses, who by faith refused to be called the sonne of Pharaohs daughter &c. because hee had an eye foreign, to the recompence of reward, Heb. 11. 26. Of David, Psal. 119. 112. I have enclined my heart to doe thy statutes, for ever is the reward, or as the Septuagints and the vulgar Latine read, because of the reward. Of Paul, Phil. 3. 11, 12, 13, 14. Of the example of all examples our Saviour Christ, whom wee are to imitate: who for the joy, that was set before him, endured the crosse, and despised shame, &c. Heb. 12. 2.
Fourthly, In doing good workes, which is the way wherein we are to walke we have an eye to the end of our journey, which is the end of our faith, 1 Pet. 1. 9. and of our sanctification, Rom. 6. 22. that is, the salvation of our soules. They who are in a journey (as we all are viatores) travell, that they may come to their journeyes end, and they who are in a race, doe runne, that they may obtaine, 1 Cor. 9. 24.
Fifthly, Because as the glory of God is the soveraigne universall end; so eternall salvation is the foreign the supreme particular end of man, subordinate to the universall end. And therefore as in all our actions wee are to have respect to the glory of God, 1 Cor. 10. 31. so wee may have respect to our salvation, as subordinate unto it. And who knoweth not, but that the finall cause, though it bee last in execution, yet is the first in the intention.
§. V. The thing which Bellarmine covertly intendeth, is, that it is lawfull to doe good workes with an intention to merit eternall life thereby, to which end if his discourse de intuitu mercedis bee not referred, it is impertinent: and yet not any one of his testimonies or proofes doth conclude so much we are to performe good workes, indeed that wee may obtaine and may gather assurance that we shall obtaine the gracious reward, which God hath freely promised, and will freely bestow upon all those that lead a godly life: but not that wee should merit any reward of God, as due in justice for the works sake. And this is one of the Papists chiefe quarrels against us, that wee forsooth discourage the people from good workes, in that we teach they doe not merit; nor are to be done to that end, when notwithstanding wee use betterarguments than they doe, to encourage men to well doing. But we reply, that the Papists, by telling the people, that they are to doe good workes, that thereby they may merit eternall life, doe teach them to marre their workes, and instead of performing works meritorious, or well pleasing to God, to doe that which is odious and abominable in his sight, as being derogatory from the al-sufficient merit of Christ. For if Christ hath fully purchased by his merit the kingdome of heaven for us, then our merits need not: or if they need, then Christ his merit is not sufficient for us. We are therefore in the performance of good workes to have an …ye to the eternall reward, they being the way wherein we are to walke towards it, and the meanes whereby we may gather assurance to our selves that wee shall obtaine it. But we are no… to doe good workes to that end, that by them we may merit eternall life, which is purchased by the alone merit of Christ.