The Principles of the Protestant Religion Maintained, Introduction · Reflections 7
Reflections on Chapt. 7. of Juſtification.
The Doctrine of Juſtification is one principal pillar of our Faith, we cannot forego one clauſe of it without greateſt hazzard: let him not then think to wheadle us out of it, his attempts ſo to do muſt be detected & defeated.
Sect. 1. When he ſaith, God doth not juſtifie men in their Ʋngodlineſs, but from it, would be true, if he had not perverted it afterwards. To juſtifie a man is to uphold and defend him in ſuch a way, and to ſay to the wicked, thou art righteous; this is far from God. But to juſtifie a man from his ungodlineſs, may admit of a double Interpretation, if it intend that He abſolves a man from his ungodlineſs by a gracious act of pardon & acquittance, it is true: but if it intend a taking away of his ſin from him by cleanſing him from his filthineſs and purging the corruption of it out of him, (as he after interprets himſelf) this is no Juſtification at all, but belongs to Sanctification.
Sect. 2. He ſaith, They are only the ſanctified that are juſtified; if he intends that whom God doth juſtifie, He doth alſo ſanctifie, it is a great truth; but if he puts Sanctification (which is a Concomitant) to be a cauſe of Juſtification, yea, the material cauſe, (as his following Diſcourſe evidently inſinuates) it is a deceit: and here he miſtaketh when he ſaith, That we are the ſeed of Chriſt by Sanctification: which is only a benefit which Chriſt beſtowes on His ſeed, and not a cauſe of their being ſo. And when he tells us, That Chriſt beſtowes Adoption only on His brethren, it is as much as if he had ſaid that Chriſt only Adopts the Adopted.
Sect. 3. Here he falls into down-right Popery, confounding thoſe two great benefits of Juſtification and Sanctification, which (tho' inſeparable) are to be diſtinguiſhed. All Proteſtant Writers of Controverſies againſt papiſts, have abundantly Confuted this miſtake, only he will force us in the Sequel to make ſome brief Remarks on this matter.
Sect. 4. One Errour begets another: a falſe principle will afford miſtakes for Deductions; and here we ſee it: he took Juſtification and Sanctification for one thing, and ſo he tells us, that God juſtifies not only by faith in Chriſt, but by a real inward righteouſneſs too: though Paul thought that theſe two ways of having a juſtifying Righteouſneſs were inconſiſtent Rom. 11.6. but herein he follows his Fathers the Papiſts; and whereas he ſaies That The graces of Sanctification are the inſtruments of obtaining Juſtification from Chriſt; he miſtakes the order of Chriſt's Benefits; for its certain that there is none of theſe graces in the man habitually, much leſs the Exerciſe of them, before Juſtification: for, in & with the ſouls applying it ſelf to Chriſt by Faith, it is juſtified; and it is to be remembred that Paul tells us, it is the juſtification of the ungodly, Rom. 4.5. Such God finds them in themſelves, when He comes to …uſtifie them. And when he ſaith, Jeſus Chriſt cannot be applied to men for juſtification, unleſs the man be made righteous; its either a Contradiction or a Sophiſm. If they be made righteous for their juſtification, the Application of Chriſt for their Righteouſneſs …s ſuperfluous: If he intends, that the Application of Juſtification makes them righte…us, it is fallacious: it makes them ſo in … Law ſenſe, but not in a moral ſenſe, not …uſtification, but Sanctification doeth that: …is Similitude is from that which hath no …ikeneſs; his Scripture Citations are not to …he purpoſe, that in 1. Joh. 3.7. ſpeakes of …anfictication; that in Rev. 22.15. ſpeaks …f the viſible Right to Church-Communion, which men are to prove by their Obedience; or if he will not admit of that, let him Remember that Faith, which layes hold on the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, is the great Goſpel Command, 1. Joh. 3.23.
Sect. 5. 'Tis a great miſtake in him to ſay, that Faith is one hand to receive Chriſt, & Love is another; the Office of Love is another and quite different thing: by faith we receive Chriſt, by Love we ſerve him, or teſtifie our Thankfulneſs in our Obedience to Him, Joh. 14.15. and it is by Faith tha… we derive from Chriſt all that virtue which nouriſheth the graces of Love, whereby we may ſerve Him, Gal. 5.6. And whereas he here applies the putting on of Chriſt to Juſtification, we that eſteem Juſtification and Sanctification two things, reckon it to Sanctification, and that according to Scripture; fo… what elſe is the Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs by which it is interpreted, Eph. 4.22▪ 23, 24.
Sect. 6. In this Paragraph he gives up th… whole Cauſe, if he ſpeakes ſincerely; if not let him anſwer it to his Judge.
Sect. 7. That becauſe Pardon of Sin is … part of Juſtification: therefore Repentance … a neceſſary inſtrument to obtain it, has no Conſequence in it. Repentance being an inſeparable Concomitant of Faith, and influenced by it, Act. 5.31.11.18. & elſewhere. Only let it be obſerved that we ſeparate not Repentance from Juſtification, but deny it to have any cauſal Influence into it. His proof from Tit. 3.5. is impertinent; we never denied Sanctification to be neceſſary to Salvation. But we ſuppoſe there is more requiſite to Salvation than there is to Juſtification; not only muſt we be adjudged to the Inheritance, but we muſt be made meet or ſuitable for that happy ſtate, Col. 1.12. and that is by Sanctification, Hebr. 12.14. this therefore is one of the Goſpel Conditions of Salvation, but not of Juſtification. When he ſaith that Paul in ſaying that men are not juſtified by the works of the Law, only excludes the legal performances in which the Jews reſted, who had not faith in Chriſt, he labours of a double miſtake; for, both, all the Jews did not reſt in them, but ſome had faith in Chriſt, and yet they did theſe works, and were not juſtified by them; and Paul renounceth his own works both before & after believing, diſtinctly, Phil. 3.7.8.
Sect. 8. Whereas he ſaith, that when Paul ſpeakes of Juſtification by faith, he uſeth the word faith by a Synechdoche; it is gratis dictum, we have only his word for it; and how much the word of one guilty of ſo much Hereſy and Blaſphemy is worth on this account, let any judge. We grant that the word Faith is ſometimes uſed for the Goſpel-Doctrine, but when the Scripture mentions it as the inſtrument of juſtification, it is never ſo intended, and it belongs to him to prove it if he can.
Sect. 9. We underſtand not the meaning of his Rant in this Section about a Chriſt divided; a Chriſt without and a Chriſt within, a Chriſt in heaven and a Chriſt in the heart; we believe that there is but One Chriſt, and that He is in Heaven as to His humane nature, infinite as to His Divine Nature, and that by His Virtue, Influence, and Grace, He dwells in the hearts of all His people, and that they live upon Him by Faith.
Sect. 10. None of us ever doubted that Faith hath true Aſſurance in it, and infallible too: he therefore abuſeth us in ſaying that we deny that faith hath aſſurance in the being & nature of it: only he muſt give us leave (or we will take it) to diſtinguiſh between the Aſſurance of the Object, & of the Subject … by the Aſſurance of the Object, we underſtand the full Security which a believer is put into of enjoying eternal life, in the very inſtant of beleeving: this Aſſurance we ſay, belongs to faith of its own nature, i. e. it cannot be without it. but the Aſſurance of the Subject is, that Knowledge or Diſcerning, whereby a Believer reads the Evidence, and has it infallibly confirmed to his knowledge; this we ſay is not of the nature of Faith, but belongs to inchoate Glorification; and that Beleevers may be ſafe, and yet want the Diſcerning of it, Iſa. 50.10. tho' we ſtill believe (and have formerly proved) that this Aſſurance may be had without extraordinary Revelation: and he argues fooliſhly, that becauſe no place of Scripture tells us that we have theſe infallible marks, therefore we cannot know them infallibly without ſuch Revelation; for the marks are knowable, men have underſtandings and can know what they mean, & apply 'em; and the Spirit can and doth in this way ſet His ſeal to the Confirmation hereof,
Sect. 11. The poiſon conteined in this Section, will be more fully diſcovered in the next Chapter, to which we refer the Reader to prevent the nauſeous Tautologies which his book labours of.