The Life of Justification Opened, Appendix · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
The Law, by the works whereof Paul denyeth that we are justified, is not the jewish Law.
WE finde the Apostle Paul directly & pro…essedly proving & concluding, that we are not justified by the Law, nor by the works of the Law: Yet such as differ from us, about the interest of works, in justification, not being willing to yeeld & submit unto the truth, do seek what Evasions they can, to evite the force of the Apostles a gueings & peremptour Conclusions; and therefore say, that Paul is to be understood, as speaking only of such, or such a Law; & excludeth only such & such works, in which they think they may yeeld unto, what the Apostle saith, the same being limited & restricted, according to their own minde, and yet do no prejudice to their own Hypothesis: But yet what this Law in particular is, and what are the works thereof, our Adversaries are not at all agreed among themselves; but some imagine one thing, and some another, as we shall heare.
Some by the Law, and the works thereof, which Paul excludeth from justification, do mean the Ceremonial Law, and the Observances thereof; or as others express it, the Iewish Law, including their judaical Law, & so understanding hereby all that Law, which is called Moses's Law: this is owned by some Papist's, as Bellarmine sheweth us. De justif. Lib. 1. Cap. 19. but he himself rejecteth it, upon this ground, that the Apostle Rom. 4. Ephes. 2. Tit. 3. doth simply exclude works, making no mention of the Law of Moses: The Socinians do chuse this way of interpreting the Apostle, as perticularly may be seen in the Author of a book, in…led Consensus Pauli & Iacobi &c. printed. An. 1620.
But this opinion doth not correspond with truth, as may be manifest from these particulars.
1. If Paul disput only against Justification by Ceremonial Observances, he had a far shorter cut, to confute that conceite, than the way he took, to wit, to tell them: that shortly that Law, with all its observances, was to be laid aside & no more to be observed, by vertue of the Gospel Administration, & because the end of all these observances, & He, who was typified thereby, was come, and had put an end to that dispensation. But we finde not the Apostle making any use of this One & OnelyOnly Argument, which had sured that purpose; but on the contrary he useth such Mediums & Arguments, as suite no less, if not more, other Lawes, beside the Ceremonial.
2. Yea before the writting of these Epistles, wherein the Apostle did disput against Justification by the Law, at least, before he wrote that to the Galatians, he had by his preaching & practice, opposed the observation of the Ceremonial Law, as himself telleth us Gal. 2. And in that same Epistle Chap. 3. & 4. he condemneth the observation of that Law, in most peremptory termes, as being no less, than a falling from grace: And yet when he is treating of Justification not by the works of the Law Chap. 3. he mentioneth not this ground, which would have taken away the very subject of the debate. Shall we think, that the Apostle would have disproved Justification, only by the works of the Ceremonial Law by such Arguments and Tipicks, out of Scripture, when he was within a little by forcible reasons to remove the very Law itself, and condemne all observation thereof?
3. It is strange, that Paul in writting to the Gentils, should deny Justification to be by the works of the Law, meaning the Ceremonial Law only; and Iames writting to the Jewes, should cry up the observation of that Law, and plead for justification thereby: This would say, that Jewes & Gentiles were not both to be justified one way: or that Iames & Paul do clearly contradict other; neither of which must be said. That Iames speaketh of another Law, than Paul speaketh of, cannot be made good. And therefore when our Adversaries will prove from Iames, that we are justified by works, their meaning is, that we are justified by the Observation of the Ceremonial Law.
4. The several things mentioned of this Law, whereof the Apostle speaketh, sheweth, that he is not speaking of the Ceremonial Law only: as (1) Rom. 3: 19. It is a Law that stoppeth all mouthes, & whereby all the world becometh guilty before God: But this is not the Ceremonial Law, or the jewish, or Moses Law, under which the Gentiles were not, nor yet are. (2) Rom. 3: 20. It is that Law, by which is the knowledge of sin: but this is not by the meer Ceremonial Law, as we see Paul himself professing Rom. 7: 7 (3) Rom. 2: 13. It is that Law, the döers whereof shall be justified: But this can not be asserted of the meer Ceremonial Law, or of Moses's Law. (4) Rom. 3: 27. It is that Law, which doth not exclude boasting: but it cannot be said, that the Law of Moses is only that Law. (5) Rom. 3: 31. It is that Law, that is not made void, through Faith. But this is not the Ceremonial Law; The Ceremonial Law is not established by Faith. (6) Rom. 3: 28. It is that Law, justification by which is inconsistent with & opposit to justification by Faith: but this is not the Ceremonial Law only. (7) Rom. 4: 1, 2. It is that Law, by the works whereof Abraham, was not justified. But the Apostles argument from the Instance of Abraham had not been pertinent, if no Law had here been understood, but Moses's Law; which was not in being in Abraham's dayes. (8) Rom. 4: 2. It is that Law, & works of obedience to it, that would give ground to man of glorying: But this is not true only of the Ceremonial Law. (9) Rom. 4: 4. It is that Law, obedience to which is a working, and maketh the reward of debt: But this cannot be said only of the Ceremonial Law. (10) Rom. 4: 15. It is that Law that worketh wrath: But other Lawes do this, than the Ceremonial Law, (11) Rom. 8: 3, 4. It is that Law, that was weak through the flesh, and the Righteousness of which was to be fulfilled in us: but this cannot be applied to the Ceremonial Law only. (12) Gal. 3: 10. It is that Law…, of the works of which as many as are, are under the Curse, and of which it is said, cursed is every one, that continueth not in all things, which are written in the Law to do them. But this agreeth not to the Ceremonial Law only. (13) Gal. 3: 12. It is that Law, by the doing of which, man should live: But by perfect obedience to the Law of Moses alone life was not to be had. (14) It is that Law, that cursed all transgressours, & under the Curse whereof all thoselay, for whom Christ died. Gal. 3: 13. But that is not the Ceremonial Law, which laid no Curse upon the Gentiles. (15) Ephes. 2: 9▪ 10. It is that Law, that enjoineth those good works, which God hath before ordained, that we (even Gentiles) should walk in them: But that is not the Ceremonial Law. (16. It is that Law, the works whereof are inconsistent with grace, as the ground of Election: Rom. 11: 6. But this is not Ceremonial Law only, else we must say, that Election is for works of the Moral Law, and yet is for grace. (17) Phil. 3: 9. It is that Law, obedience to which can be called our Righteousness: But this is not the Ceremonial Law only.
5. If Paul's minde had been only to disput against Justification by Mosaical Observances; after he had stated the question, and proposed the Truth, he was minded to confirme Rom. 1: 17. to what purpose did he insist so much, to shew, how guilty the Gentiles were, who were never under Moses's precepts, and thereby clear, what need they had of a justification by free grace through faith without the works of the Law? This seemeth not to have a clear tendency unto the clearing of justification to be by Faith, & not by Mosaical Observances; for what had the Gentiles to do with these?
6. We finde like wise the Apostle to convince the Jewes themselves to be under sin, in order to the necessity they had of being justified by faith, holding forth their breaches of the Moral Law Rom. 2: 21, 22. and speaketh of a Law distinct from that, to which Circumcision belonged, saying vers. 25. &c. for Circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the Law; but if thou be a breaker of the Law, thy Circumcision is made uncircumcision: And this Law, is a Law, that he, by supposition, saith, one not circumcised, might observe, and so could not be the Law of Ceremonies. See also Rom. 3: 9▪ 19.
7. The Arguments, which the Apostle adduceth to disprove justification by the Law, cannot conclude against the Ceremonial Law only: for (1) all the world are not guilty of transgressing only the Ceremonial Law: and yet because all the world are become guilty before God, the Apostle inferreth Rom. 3: 20. Therefore by the deeds of the Law, there shall no flesh be justified. (2) So that other Argument ibid. for by the Law is the knowledge of sin, cannot conclude against the Ceremonial Law only. (3) Justifieation by the deeds of the Ceremonial Law only, repugneth not to the justification through the Righteousness of God without the Law, and which is by Faith of Jesus Christ; and through the Redemption, that is in Christ. (4) The Law of Ceremonies alone doth not exclude boasting. (5) Abraham's works were not works of the Ceremonial Law only (6) works of the Ceremonial Law only do not exclude glorying, nor make the reward of debt & not of grace. (7) Beleeving on him, that justifieth the ungodly, is opposed as well to him that worketh according to other Lawes, as to him, that worketh according to the Ceremonial Law Rom. 4: 5. (8) Imputed Righteousness, mentioneth Rom. 4: 7, 11. is as much opposite, in the matter of justification, to other observances, as to Mosaical Observances. (9) Forgiveness of sins, mentioned Rom. 4: 7, 8. is as inconsistent with the observation of other Lawes, as of the Ceremonial Law. (10) Justification by the Faith of Christ is as opposite to the Moral Law, as to the Ceremonial Law: And thus reasoneth the Apostle Gal. 2: 16. (11) That Curse denounced Deut. 27: 26. by which the Apostle proveth Gal. 3: 10. that justification can not be by the works of the Law, is not against transgressours only of the Ceremonial Law. (12) Obedience, to the moral commands, is as little a living by faith, as was obedience to the Ceremonial Law: And by this Argument Paul proveth Gal. 3: 11. that no man is justified by the Law, in the sight of God, because the just shall live by faith. (13) This is clear also from vers. 12. & 13. to mentione no more. And the Law is not of faith (which holdeth not true only of the Ceremonial Law) but the man that doth them shall live in them (which was the Tenor of the Old Covenant Rom. 10: 5. Levit. 18: 5.) Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law (And sure this is from the Curse of other Lawes, than of the Ceremonial Law.)
8. Though it were true, that Paul's conclusion was only against Justification by Mosaical Observances: Yet by good consequence it might hence be inferred, that there is no Justification by the works of the Moral Law. Partly because the Apostle's Mediums & Arguments are general, &, as we saw, reach further than to the Ceremonial Law: Partly because if it were not thus, all the Apostles disput should be of no use or value unto us, now the subject of that controversie being quite removed: Partly because the Ceremonial Law belonged to the first table, being God's institute worshipe, & obedience thereunto required by the Second Command: Partly because so long as that Law was not abrogated, obedience thereunto was their Gospel Righteousness, as well as obedience to other Law's is now called our Gospel-Righteousness: And if that could not then justifie them, no more can this now justifie us.
We do not by all this say, that the Ceremonial Law had no place or interest in this disput; for the Jewes being pertinacious adherers unto this, & the false Teachers urging the observation of this, even upon the Gentile Churches, gave occasion & first rise unto this Question; for they alleiged, there was no Justification, or Salvation without the observation hereof: But as they did not restrict the Law & the works thereof, purely unto the Mosaical Rites & Typical Ceremonies; but urged the observation of the whole Law, which comprehended moral precepts, as well as Ceremonial Injunctions; so the Apostle argueth against Justification by the works of the Law in general, without any particular limitation (expressed or hinted) unto the Ceremonial Observances.
Mr. Baxter, in his Cathol. Theol. part. 2. Sect. 26. where he would tell us, how Paul & Iames agree, about justification by works (n. 362.) saith that, The key of understanding Paul's discourses of justification is, to know 1. That the grand question, which he first manageth, is, whether the Gentiles may not be saved, without keeping the Iewish Law, as well as the Iewes with it? Ans. (1) But our Principal difficulty here is to understand, what Mr. Baxter meaneth by the Iewish Law? for if he meane all that, which was prescriscribed unto the Jewes, as a Rule of their obedience, we assent; but then the Moral Law is as much concerned here, as the Ceremonial, or judicial: And these, as such being abrogated, the disput concerneth us, as well as them, in respect of the Moral Law: But if he mean hereby, only the Law of Ceremonies, we have shown, that howbeit this might have given the first rise unto the disput, yet the disput was not wholly & purely restricted thereunto; Nor doth the Apostle only speak to that abstracted or restricted consideration of the Law, in his pleading against a justification by the works of the Law; as we have seen; This he doth, when he pleadeth for the Abrogation of that Law, & against the observation of it. (2) Mr. Baxter, as it would seem, supposeth, that Paul made no question concerning the Jewes themselves, but yeelded that they were justified & saved by their Law: for the question was, saith he, whether the Gentiles might not as well be saved thereby, as the Iewes? But where findeth he this, either asserted, or granted by the Apostle, or the Question thus stated by the Apostle?
2. Saith he. To prove the Affirmative, he proveth, that the Jewes themselves cannot be saved or justified meerly or primarily by the Law, notwithstanding the divinity & great excellency of it; But must be justified by a Saviour, & free given Pardon & Right to life, & to which the sincere keeping of Moses Law was intended to be but subservient. Ans. (1) Then the Question concerned the Jewes, as well as the Gentiles, & Paul did no more grant justification by the Law to the one, than to the other. (2) Where findeth Mr. Baxter these restrictions, Merely or Primarily, in all the Apostles disput? This is not faire, to pervert the Apostles plaine peremptour, & absolute Conclusions, & restrick them to a certain limited sense, that they may the better be subservient to our designes, & our Hypotheses. Do the Apostles Mediums only serve to prove, that justification is not by the Law Meerly or Primarily? Which of them all, I pray, hath only this force? (3) Though the keeping of Moses's Law be here said to be but subservient; Yet, according to Mr. Baxter, it was all their Righteousness, no other was properly imputed to them, & upon it immediatly they received Pardon & Right to life, as merited thereby ex pacto, the Saviour only procuring the New Covenant: that is, that all, who work well & keep the Law of Moses, shall have free Pardon & Right to life. And thus they were as well justified by the works of the Law, as by faith: for faith was also required of them: And then the meaning of the Apostles Conclusion Rom. 3: 28. is, therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith, and by the deeds of the Law: for both faith & works with Mr. Baxter, belong to this Subservient Righteousness, as he calleth it. If this be consonant to the Apostles doctrine, which doth so contradict it, let the Reader judge.
3. Saith he. That therefore it appeareth, that the Jewes did so fondly admire the Law, & their National Privileges under it, that they thought the exact keeping of it was necessary & sufficient to Iustification & Salvation. And they thought the Messiah was not to be their Righteousness, as a Sacrifice for sin, & meriter of free Pardon, & the Gift of life, but only a great King & Deliver, to redeem them by Power from all their Enemies & Bondage. Ans. This mistake of the Jewes, concerning the Messiah, speaketh nothing to the point, whereupon we are; that is, that Paul denieth justification to be by the Law: And their errour & mistake about the Law, is not to be limited & restricted to the Ceremonial Law; & so the thing, that we say, is confirmed hereby. (2) They thought the Messiah was not to be their Righteousness: And Mr. Baxter will not have him to be our Righteousness, save only, in that he hath purchased the New Covenant, wherein our faith & obedience to the Law, is to be looked upon as all our proper & immediat Righteousness, upon the account of which we are to receive Pardon & Right to life.
4. He saith. That is was not Adam's Covenant of Innocencie, or persection, which the Jewes thus trusted to, or Paul doth speak against, as to justification (though a minore ad majus, that is also excluded) for the Jewes knew, that they were sinners, & that God pardoned sin, as a Merciful God, & that their Law had Sacrifices for Pardon & Expiation with Confessions &c. But they thought that so far as God had made that Law sufficient to Political ends, & to Temporal Rewards & Punishments, it had been sufficient to Eternal Rewards & Punishments, & that of it self, & not in meer subordination to the typified Messiah. Ans. Though the jewes knew, that they were sinners, yet they did also suppose, that by their works of obedience to the Law Moral, as well as Ceremonial, they might make amends, & so think to be justified & pardoned thereby, and that God would accept of them, & grant them life for their own Righteousness sake, & therefore did they laboure so much to establish their own Righteousness, & followed after the Law of Righteousness, & sought Righteousness, as it were by the works of the Law. What Mr. Baxter talks here of the jewes not using of that Law, in subordination to the Typified Messiah, hath need of Explication: for as to his sense of it, we see no ground thereof in all the Apostles discourse.
5. He saith, That the thing, which Paul disproveth them by, is. 1. That the Law was never made for such an End. Ans. Yet he said, that the man, which doth those things shall live by them. Rom. 10: 5. Levit. 18: 5. Gal. 3: 12. & that the doers of the Law are justified Rom. 2: 13. And therefore speaketh of that Law, which according to its primitive institution, was made for such an end 2. saith he. That even then it stood in subordination to Redemption & free given life. Ans. This we cannot yeeld to, in Mr. Baxters sense, often mentioned, for Paul no where giveth us to understand, that their obedience to this was their immediat Righteousness, & Condition of Justification, & the meritorious cause (ex pacto) of their Right to Christ, & to life &c. 3. saith he. That the free Gift or Covenant of Grace, containing the promise of the Messiah, and Pardon & life by him, was before the Law, and justified Abraham & others without it. Ans. It is true, this Argument did particularly militate against the Ceremonial Law; Yet, this not being the Apostles onelyonly Argument, & other Arguments reaching the Moral Law, as well as the Ceremonial, we must not limite the Apostles disput only to the Ceremonial Law. 4. saith he. That their Law was so strick, that no man could perfectly keep it all. Ans. Adde also, that they could not perfectly keep any one command thereof. 5. saith he. That every sin deserveth death indeed, though their Law punished not every sin with death by the Magistrate. Ans. And this holdeth true of the Moral, as of the Ceremonial Law. 6. saith he. That their Law was never obligatory to the Gentile world, who had a Law written in their hearts; & therefore not the common way of justification. Ans. The Apostle maketh no such conclusion, that therefore it was not the common way of justification, for this would suppose, that it were the way of justification unto them, which is directly against the Apostles disput. 7. saith he. That their Law, as such, discovered sin, but gave not the Spirit of Grace to overcome it: in so much, as though he himself desired perfectly to fulfill it without sin, yet he could not, but was under a Captivity, that is, a moral necessity of Imperfection, or sins of infirmity, from which only the grace of Christ could, as to guilt & power, deliver him. Ans. Therefore the Moral Law is as well here to be understood, as the Ceremonial; as is manifest. 8. saith he. That no man ever come to heaven by that way of merite, which they dreamed of, but all by the way of Redemption, Grace, free Gift, & Pardoning Mercy. Ans. But that way of merite attendeth all works, in the matter of justification; as the Apostle assureth us Rom. 4: 4. Ephes. 2: 8, 9. & is opposed to the way of Redemption, Grace, free Gift, & Pardoning Mercy. Rom. 11: 6. & 3; 21, 24. Tit. 3: 5, 7.
From these things Mr. Baxter draweth this Conclusion. Therefore their conceite, that they were just in the maine & forgiven their sins; & so justifiable by the meer dignity of Moses Law, which they keept, & by the works of the Law, & not by the free Gift, Pardon & Grace of a Redeemer, & by the Faith & Practical Beleife of that Gift, and acceptance of it, with thankful penitent obedient hearts, was a Pernicioue Errour. Ans. 1. Nothing is here said to ground a restriction of this erroneous conceite of theirs unto the Ceremonial Law: for this conceite of being justifiable by the Law, and the works thereof, in opposition to the free Gift, Pardon & Grace of a Redeemer, is as applicable to the Moral, as to the Ceremonial Law. (2) The Apostle doth not ground his disput upon the Iewes their express rejecting of a free Gift, & of Pardon &c. But from justification by Faith, laying hold on the free Grace & Merites of a Mediator, he argueth against justification by the Law & the works thereof: And according to the Apostle's Methode do we argue. (3) To cover Justification by our own inherent Righteousness, having the same place in the New Covenant, which inherent Righteousness & Obedience had in the old, by these fine words, Faith, & a Practical beleef of the Gift, & acceptance of it, with thankful penitent & obedient hearts, is not such ingenuous dealing, as the Importance of the matter requireth: But this will be clearer by what followeth.
But (saith he) the true way of Righteousness was to become true Christians, that is, with such a penitent, thankful accepting, practical beleefe, or affiance to beleeve in God, as the giver of Salvation, in Christ as the Redeemer, & his Spirit, as our life & Sanctifier; and to accept Christ, and all his procured Benefites, Iustification & Life, as purchased by his Sacrifice & Meritorious Righteousness, & given in the New Covenant on this Condition, and so to give up ourselves to his whole saving work, as to the Physician of our souls, & only Mediator with God. This is the summe of Paul's doctrine on this point. Ans. Not to speak of this matter here, which is elsewhere done, I shall only say, that we are not enquiring after the true way of Righteousness, but after the true way of Justification before God; And enquire where the Apostle teacheth, that all the Righteousness, required unto justification, must be within us, & none at all imputed; as this Summe holdeth forth? Where he teacheth that this faith, including works & all obedience, is the only meane of justification? Where he teacheth, that this inherent imperfect Righteousness of ours, is the immediat ground, and meritorious Cause (ex pacto) of our justification & Salvation? Where he teacheth, that Christ's Righteousness is no otherwise ours, than as purchasing the New Covenant, wherein our own personal Righteousness is made the Potestative Condition of our Justification & Salvation? And yet these and several other Particulars of this alloy doth Mr. Baxter hold forth, as taught, in Scripture; as hath been seen elsewhere.