Aphorisms of Justification, Thesis 62 – Thesis 67
THESIS LXII.
YEt Faith may be called the onelyonly Condition of the new Covenant; 1. Because it is the principall Condition, and the other but the less principall: And so as a whole Country hath of its name from the chief City; so may the Conditions of this Covenant from Faith: 2. Because all the rest are reducible to it; either being presupposed, as necessary Antecedents or means; or contained in it as its parts, properties, or modifications; or else implied as its immediate product, or necessary subservient means or consequents.
EXPLICATION.
SUbservient Actions are in common speech silently implyed in the principall. If the besieged be bound by Articles to surrender a Town to the besiegers at such a time; it need not be expressed in the Articles, that they shall withdraw their Guards, and cease resistance, and open the gates, and yeeld up this house, or that street, &c. All this is implyed clearly in the Article of surrender.
If a redeemed gally-slave be freed, upon condition that he take him for his Redeemer and Master that did deliver him; it need not be expressed, that he shall leave the gallies, and his company, and employment there, and go with him that bought him, and do what he bids him do: All this is plainly implyed in the foresaid words, of his Conditions.
So here, the great condition of Beleeving doth include or imply all the rest.
I confess it is a work of some worth and difficulty, to shew how each other part of the Condition is reducible to Beleeving; and in what respect they stand towards it. I dare not determine too peremptorily here, but I think they stand thus. 1. Hearing the Word, consideration, conviction, godly sorrow, repentance from dead works, are implyed as necessary means antecedents. 2. Knowledge of Christ, and Assent to the Truth of the Gospell are at least integrall parts of flat necessity, if not essentiall parts of Faith. 3. Subjection, Acceptance, Consent, cordiall covenanting, self-resigning, are the very proper essentiall, formall Acts of Faith.
4. Esteeming Christ above all in Judgement, preferring him before all in the Will, loving him above all; I say this preferring of Christ above all in Judgement, Will, and Affection, is (in my Judgement (the very Differentia fidei maxime propria quae de ea essentialiter praedicatur, & sic pars ejus essentialis; the very essentiall property of true Faith differencing it from all false Faith, and so an essentiall part of it. I know this is like to seeme strange; but I shall give my reasons of it anon.
5. Sincerity and perseverance are the necessary Modifications of Faith: and not any thing really distinct from its Being.
6. Assiance and sincere obedience, and works of Love, are the necessary immediate, inseparable products of Faith; as heat and light are of fire; or rather as Reasoning is the product of Reason: or yet rather as actions most properly conjugall, are the effects of Conjugall contract. And as Faith is in some sort more excellent then Affiance & Obedience, as the cause is better then the effect: so in some sort they may be more excellent then Faith; as the effect may be preferred before its Cause; the Act before the habit; as being that which is the end of the habit, for whose sake it is; and to which it tendeth as to its perfection.
7. The praying for forgivenesse, the forgiving of others, the pleading of Christs satisfaction, are both parts of this obedience, and necessary consequents of Faith, and Acts subseruient to it for the attaining of its Ends.
8. The denying and humbling of the flesh, the serious, painfull, constant use of Gods Ordinances, Hearing, Praying, Meditating, &c. are both parts of the foresaid obedience, and also the necessary means of continuing and exercising our Faith.
9. Strength of Grace; Assurance of Pardon and Salvation; Perswasion of Gods favour; setled peace of Conscience; Ioy in this Assurance and Peace; the understanding of Truths not fundamentall, or necessary in practice; All these are no properties of the Condition of the Covenant; but separable adjuncts of Faith; tending to the Well-being of it; but neither tending to, nor necessary, proofs of the Being of it; which a Believer should have, but may possibly want.
I shall give you some reason of severall of these Assertions, when I have first made way by the Definition of Faith.
So then, as when you invite a man to your House, it is not necessary that you bid him come in at the doore, or bring his head, or his legs, or armes, or his clothes with him; (though these are necessary) because all these are necessarily implyed: even so when we are said to be justified by Faith onelyonly; or when it is promised, that he that beleeveth shall be saved, all those forementioned duties, are implyed or included.
THESIS LXIII.
AS it is Gods excellent method in giving the Morall Law, first to require the acknowledgment of his soveraign authority, and to bring men to take him only for their God, (which is therefore called the first and great Commandment,) and then to prescribe the particular subsequent duties; so is it the excellent method of Christ in the Gospell, first to establish with men his Office and Authority, and require an acknowledgment of them, and consent and subjection to them; and then to prescribe to them their particular duties in subordination.
THESIS LXIV.
FAith therefore is the summary and chief of the conditions of the Gospell, and not formally and strictly the whole: But as Love is the fulfilling of the Law, so Faith is the fulfilling of the new Law; or as taking the Lord for our only God, is the sum of the Decalogue, implying or inferring all the rest, and so is the great Commandment; so taking Christ for our only Redeemer and Lord, is the sum of the conditions of the new Covenant, including, implying or inferring all other parts of its conditions, and so is the great Command of the Gospell.
EXPLICATION.
THe Observation in the 63 Position, is commended to you by Mr white of Dorchester in his Directions for reading Scripture, p. 307.
The full subjection to the Authority commanding, doth imply and infer subjection to the particular Commands: therefore God doth still make this the sum of the conditions of the Law, that they take him only for their God, or that they have no other Gods but him: And when he contracteth his Covenant into an Epitome, it runs thus, I will be thy God, and thou shalt be my people, Exod. 20. 3. & 23. 13. Deut. 7. 4. & 8. 19. & 13. 2, 3, &c. Ios. 24. 2, 16. &c. Iudg. 2. 12, 17, 19. & 10. 13. 1 Sam. 8. 8. 2 Kings 5. 17. & 17. 7. Ier. 22. 9. & 7. 23. & 11. 4. & 30. 22. Ezek. 36. 28. Deut. 26. 16, 17, &c. And as Gods promise of taking us for his people doth imply his bestowing upon us all the priviledges and blessings of his people, and so is the sum of all the conditions of the Covenant on his part. Even so our taking the Lord for our God, and Christ for our Redeemer and Lord, doth imply our sincere obedience to him; and is the summe of the Conditions on our part. And so as Idolatry is that violation of the law of Nature, which doth eminentér, containe all the rest in it; So is Unbeliefe in respect of the Law of Grace. And as the formall Nature of Idolatry lyeth in disclayming God, from being God, or form being our God, or from being our alone God: Even so the formall nature of Unbeliefe lyeth in disclaiming Christ, either from being a Redeemer and Lord, or from being Our Redeemer and Lord, or from being Our onelyonly Redeemer and Lord. This being well considered, will direct you truly and punctually, where to find the very formall being and nature of Faith? Not in beleeving the pardon of sin, or the favour of God, or our salvation; nor in Affiance or recumbency, (though that be a most immediate product of it,) Nor in Assurance, (as Divines were wont to teach 80. yeares agoe.) Nor in Obedience or following of Christ as a guide to Heaven, or as a Captaine, or meere Patterne and Law-giver (as the wretched Socinians teach.) But in the three Acts above mentioned. 1. Taking Christ for a Redeemer and Lord; which is by Assent. 2. Taking him for our Redeemer, Saviour and Lord; which is by consent. 3. Taking him for our onelyonly Redeemer, Saviour and Lord; which is the Morall sincerity of the former: And the essentiall differencing property of it: Not whereby Faith is differenced from Love or joy, &c. But whereby that faith in Christ, which is the Gospell condition, is differenced from all other Faith in Christ. So that as Corpus & Anima, & Rationale, doe speake the whole essence of man: Even so this Assent, Consent, and Preference of Christ before all others; do speak the whole Essence of Faith.
For the common opinion, that justifying Faith, as justifying, doth consist in any one single Act, is a wretched mistake, as I shall shew you further anon.
THESIS LXV.
SCripture doth not take the word [Faith] as strictly as a Philosopher would doe, for any one single Act of the soul; nor yet for various Acts of one onelyonly Faculty: But for a compleat entire Motion of the whole Soul, to Christ its Object.
THESIS LXVI.
NEither is Christ, in respect of any one part or work of his Office alone, the Object of Iustifying Faith, as such: But Christ in his entire office considered, in this Object: viz. as he is Redeemer, Lord and Saviour.
THESIS LXVII.
MVch lesse are any Promises or benefits of Christ, the proper Object of justifying Faith, as many Divines do mistakingly conceive.