The Life of Justification Opened, Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII.
Our act of Faith is not imputed to us a Righteousness.
Wproceed now to cleare, at some further length, several Particulars, touched in the foregoing Chapt. contributing to the explication of our Justification by Faith: The first & great Question anent Faith is, whether it be imputed unto the Beleever, as his Righteousness, whereupon he is justified? Adversaries to the truth both Socinians & Arminians do plainly assert, that our faith, or that grace of faith is the very thing, which is imputed to the Beleever for his Righteousness. They are all convinced, that the sinner, must be clothed with a Righteousness, some way or other, in some sense or other, ere he can be Justified, for the Lord is Righteous, & will not justifie the wicled, that is such as have no Righteousness: and being willing to yeeld to the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ, they substitute, in place of Christ's Righteousness, Faith, properly taken, or our act of Beleeving, as is it performed by us, in obedience to the Gospel-command. Socinus de Serv. lib. 4. c. 4. Cum igitur &c. i.e. seing he teacheth, by the example of Abraham that Righteousness is imputed, when can doubt, that nothing else can hereby be under stood, but that we arerighteous before God, because it hath seemed good to the Lord, to account our faith, in place of Righteousness. And thereafter. That faith is imputed unto righteousness, is nothing else, than that faith is accounted to us in place of Righteousness, but not that the Righteousness of christ is imputed to us & cap. 11. Themselves say, that that saith justifieth not by its proper worth, but because it apprehendeth Christ: But that apprehension of Christ of yours, is a meer humane fiction, & a most vaine dream. And when we read, that faith was imputed to Abraham for Righteousness, or unto Righteousness, we have no reason to think, that mention is there made of the Righteousness of another, when it is manifest, that he is speaking of his own. In his dial. de Justis. f. 14, 15. he tels us, that faith is by God imputed to us for Righteousness, & he accounteth that in place of Righteousness, faith is in very deed that whereby the Scripture witnesseth that we are justified that is, accounted Righteous before God, & have our sinnes pardoned. This faith maketh us acceptable unto God unto eternal life. And in not. ad dial. f. 27. Nothing else was said, than that faith is accounted to us of God, & imputed for Righteousness, & that that faith is truely in us, who will deny seing these words are said to exclude the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness? The Arminians do homologate with the Socinians, in this Arminius himself cont. Perkins. faith expresly, that faith it self is imputed to us & in Praf. ad Hyppolit. this (faith he) is my opinion about justification, that faith, & that alone is imputed unto Righteousness, that by it we are justified before God, absolved from our sins, and accounted righteous, pronunced & declared by God giving sentence from the tribunal of grace. Some blaine ine for saying, that the act of faith it self, the foreign credere is imputed unto Righteousness, & that in a proper sense, not metonymically I say, faith is imputed unto us unto righteousness, for Christ & for his righteousness sake. He owneth the same decl. Sent. ad Ord. f. 65. 66. & in Resp. ad 31. Artic. f. 152-154.
John, Goodwine in his Treatise of Justification Part. 1. Ch. 2. asserteth the same most considently from Rom. 4. whose reasons hereafter shall be examied. The same purpose he prosecuteth Part. 2. Ch. 6. answering the arguments of the orthodox against that imputation, which shall be considered in due time.
Mr. Baxter in his Confess. pag. 18, 19. Excepteth against some words in our larger Catechisme & Confession of faith, to wit, that it is denied, that the grace of faith, or any act thereof is imputed for Justification, unless it be thus understood, that our faith is not imputed to us, as being in stead of a perfect Righteousness of Obedience, to the ends, as it was required by the Law of works; nor is our faith the matter, or the meritorious cause of the remission of our sin, or of our right to Salvation. But the meaning of the Assembly is plaine enough against that, which is the opinion of Socinians & Arminians, as the words of the Answer to quest. 73. of the larger Catech. make manifest; where it is said (in answere to that Question, How doth faith justifie a sinner in the sight of God?) Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of these other graces, which do alwayes accompany it, or of good works, that are the fruit of it; nor a… if the grace of faith, or any act thereof were imputed to him for his justification (& this is confirmed from Rom. 4: 5. comp. with Rom. 10: 10.) but only as it is an instrument, by which he receiveth & applyeth Christ, & his Righteousness. And in the Confess. of Faith. Ch. 11. f. 1. nor by imputing faith it self, the act of beleeving, nor any other evangelical obedience, to them, as their Righteousness. Nor is this a determining of a point, expresly against the words of God, as he supposeth; for it is not the bare words, as Hereticks interpret them, that is the minde of God, but the true sense & meaning of his words: And in Confessions & Catechismes, I judge that matters should be made plaine, and that it were not plaine & ingenuous dealing to set down the truth in these expressions, that hereticks can subscribe unto, when it is known, they have an exposition of these words contrary to truth: It seemeth that Mr. Baxter will not say, in the explication of the Sacrament of the Lords supper, that the bread is not changed into the body of Christ, lest he seem to contradict expresse Scripture, which saith, that Christ said of the bread, this is my body.
But now, as to the matter, I assert, with our Confess. & Catechis. and with all the orthodox against Socinians & Arminians. That faith, considered, as our act of obedience, is not that which is accounted our Righteousness, in order to Justification, nor that, which is properly imputed to us for that end; Nor is that the meaning of the Apostle. Rom. 4. And of this I give these reasons.
1. The Apostle, in his whole Disput about Justification, opposeth Faith & Works as inconsistent with, yea as repugnant to other: as is notoure; But this could not be, if Faith as our act of obedience were imputed to us, as our Righteousness; for faith, as our act of obedience, is a work, and a work commanded by the Law of God, otherwayes it should be unlawful, or a work of supererogation. The meaning then of the Apostles Conclusion Rom. 3: 28. should be this, a man is justified by one dead of the Law, without all works or deeds of the Law; which were a contradiction. And it is certaine, that when the Apostle excludeth the works of the Law, he excludeth their from being looked upon, as our Imputed Righteousness; for Adversaries did plead for their interest in justification, as a Righteousness to be imputed to the doers, where upon they might be justified: if then faith as our work, were imputed as our Righteousness, Pauls disput should be, whether all works should be imputed for Righteousness, or one work of faith only: Nor can it be said, that by the Law here, the Apostle understandeth only the Law of Moses, as such, for he is speaking this, even of the Gentiles, who never were under the Law of Moses, and instanceth Chap. 4, in Abraham, who was justified long before the Law of Moses, as such, had a being. And he is speaking of the Law, by which is the knowledge of sin. Rom. 3: 20. & which worketh wrath Rom. 4: 15. which cannot agree to the Law of Moses only.
2. By asserting, that Faith, properly taken, is accounted our Righteousness, the whole scope & all the Arguments, which the Apostle useth in this matter, should be enervated and contradicted; as a very light view of them might make manifest, and the following Arguments will evince.
3. Faith, considered as our act of obedience, and as a work of ours, is not that Righteousness of God without the Law, which is witnessed by the Law, and the Prophets: Nor is it that Righteousness of God, which is by the Faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that beleeve Rom. 3: 21, 22. Neither Law nor Prophets did bear witness, that faith, as our act & work, was accounted all the Righteousness that was to be imputed to the beleever: Nor said, that our act of faith was the Righteousness of God, without the works of the Law. Nor is it imaginable, how faith can be that Righteousness of God, which by Faith is imputed unto all, and put upon all that beleeve. Shall we think, that the Apostles words have but this sense, That faith is unto & upon them, that have faith; or that faith is imputed by faith? Sure the Apostles words must be so understood, as to import, that the beleever hath by his faith something imputed to him, which is distinct from faith, as is obvious.
4. If faith, as our work, were imputed as Righteousness, how could the Righteousness of God be declared in the justification of sinners, & God be just, when he was the justifier of him, which beleeveth in Jesus; as the Apostle saith Rom. 3: 26? Is our Beleeving such a perfect & compleat Righteousness, that God cannot but account us Righteous, because of it, & so justifie us, as Righteous, upon the account of it? Is it not sick of the same discemper of weakness with other graces?
5. If Faith, as our act & work, were imputed to us, as our Righteousness, how should boasting be excluded, & all occasion of glorying, though not before God (before whom even Adam, though he had continued in his state of innocency unto the end, could not have gloried) yet before Men, taken away, as it is in the matter of justification Rom. 3: 27. & 4: 2. The Law of works will not exclude boa…ing, & faith, as our work belongeth to the Law of works: and if we were justified by Faith, as our imputed Righteousness, we should certainly have ground of glorying before Men, as well as Adam should have had, if he had stood in his integrity, & obtained the crown by his doing.
6. If Faith, as our work, were imputed to us for our Righteousness, Justification & the reward should not be of grace, but of debt; as the Apostle expresly affirmeth. Rom. 4: 4, 5. Now to him, that worketh (& he who beleeveth, in this, which he now opposeth; worketh) is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt; but to him, that worketh not, but beleeveth (beleeving then here is opposite to working, & therefore cannot be considered, as a work of obedience in us, but as carrying us out of our selves, to seek & lay hold on the Righteousness of Christ, without us) on him, that justifieth the ungodly, his Faith is counted for Righteousness; that is, the Righteousness of Christ, which Faith laith hold on, is counted for Righteousness.
7. If Faith, as our act of obedience, were accounted our Righteousness, & we were justified upon the account of it, as our Righteousness, God should not be he, who justifieth the ungodly, as he is expresly stiled Rom. 4: 5. And the reason is, because he cannot be called an ungodly person, who hath a Righteousness inherent in him, & which is his own, & which the Lord accounteth to him for a Righteousness: he is not unrighteous, whom God accounteth Righteous, & he whom God accounteth Righteous, cannot be called ungodly: so that if God account Faith to us for our Righteousness, putting it up upon our score, as our Righteousness, when God justifieth us as Righteous, by vertue of our faith, or as clothed with faith, as a compleet Righteousness, he cannot be said to justifie such as are ungodly. But now, the Scripture tels us, that God is one, that justifieth the ungodly, that is, one who hath no Righteousness inherent in him, upon the account of which the just & righteous God can justify him; but one that must have a Righteousness from without, Imputed to him, upon the account of which he is Justified, and accounted Righteous in Christ, though unrighteous & ungodly in himself; our Faith cannot be said to be imputed to us, as our Righteousness.
8. If Faith, as our act of obedience, were imputed to us, as our Righteousness, Paul could not say, as he doth Rom. 4: 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputed righteousness without works: for then Righteousness should not be imputed without works; but a prime, special, principal & comprehensive work (for with our Adversaries here, faith is in a manner all works, or comprehendeth them, as we heard, towards the end of the foregoing Chapter) should be imputed, as our Righteousness, & not a Righteousness without works.
9. Free pardon of sins will never prove the man blessed, unto whom God imputeth Faith, in a proper sense, for his Righteousness; as it doth prove him blessed, unto whom God imputeth Christ's Righteousness, or a Righteousness without works: And the reason is, because faith is no satisfaction to the justice of God; & therefore can not be our Righteousness, upon which we are pardoned & justified. Now the Apostle argueth thus Rom. 4: 6, 7, 8. Even a, David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works; saying, blessed are they, whose iniquities are forgiven, & whose sins are covered, blessed is the man, to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
10. The Righteousness imputed is something distinct from our Faith, & is not our faith it self, for the Apostle saith Rom. 4: 23, 24. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we beleeve on him &c. If Faith it self were the Righteousness imputed, these words could make no good sense. Shall we think, that the meaning of the Apostles words is nothing but this. Faith shall be imputed if we have faith, or our Beleeving shall be imputed to us, if we Beleeve. This looks not like one of the discourses of the Apostle.
11. The imputation of our Beleeving, as our Righteousness, cannot ground our Peace with God, not have we by it access into this grace, wherein we stand; nor can we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God; nor glory in Tribulation: for it is obvious, how weak a ground that were for such a great building. But the Righteousness of Christ laid hold on by Faith, can be a sufficient basis for all this Rom. 5: 1, 2, 3.
12. Faith, as our work of obedience, is not the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which must be imputed to us, as our Righteousness, upon the account of which we are to be justified: as the offence & transgression of Adam was imputed to his posterity, as the ground of death, passing upon them, and of judgment or guilt to condemnation: But is only our receiving of that abundance of grace, and of the gift of Righteousness Rom. 5: 17. But that which is imputed, as the ground of Justification, as Adam's disobedience was imputed, as the ground of their Condemnation, is the Righteousness of the Second Adam, of whom the first was a figure vers. 14, 15, 18, 19.
13. When the Apostle saith 2. Cor. 5: 21. for he made him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God, in him; his meaning cannot be, that our Faith is the Righteousness of God, or that we are made the Righteousness of God upon that account of having faith: for the Apostle is holding forth here a comfortable commutation, which God maketh betwixt Christ & us, as the ground of that ministrie of Reconciliation; to wit; that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, mentioned vers. 18, 19. And therefore as Christ hath some thing, that was properly ours, imputed to him by God, that is Sin or Guilt, which he had not in himself: so we must have something, as the native fruit & effect of that, that is properly Christ's, imputed to us of God, that is, his Righteousness, which we have not in ourselves. And beside, this Righteousness of God is that, whereupon Reconciliation is founded, as is manifest, comparing vers. 19. with 21. But who will say, that our Reconciliation unto God is founded upon our Faith, as if that were our Peacemaker, & our Atonement, & Satisfaction; & as if that were Christ, in whom God was reconciling the world unto himself. Was Christ made sin, that the imperfect grace of faith might be made a compleet Righteousness & become our compleet Righteousness?
14. When the Apostle saith Rom. 9: 31, 32. That Israel hath not attained to the Law of righteousness, because they sought it not by faith, he must meane a Righteousness, that is distinct from Faith, and therefore he cannot meane Faith it self: for if he meaned faith it self, as our work, the words should have this sense, they sought not Faith by Faith, and therefore they did not attaine to Faith. Shall we impute such jejune & insipide expressions to Paul, or rather to the Spirit of God speaking in & by Paul?
15. The same Apostle tels us Rom. 10: 3, 4. That the jewes being ignorant of God's righteousness, & going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God: And by this Righteousness of God, he cannot meane, Faith: for their faith had been their own, & so their own Righteousness, if Faith had been Righteousness: but he must meane the Righteousness of Christ, which faith laith hold on, for he addeth, for Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness, to every one that beleeveth: So that it is the Righteousness of him, who is the end of the Law, that is that Righteousness, unto which they should have submitted themselves by Faith; & it is not Faith it self, but a Righteousness which is had from Christ; who is the end of the Law, & a Righteousness, which is had by Faith, and which every one partaketh of that beleeveth, as the following words show.
16. When the Apostle saith Rom. 5: 19. by the Obedience of one shall many be made righteous, doth he meane by that obedience of one, our Faith; & not rather the Obedience of Christ, which is imputed, and whereby we become Righteous? As the disobedience of Adam was not some particular after deed of his posterity, which was imputed to them for their disobedience; but it was the particular fact of Adam, eating the forbidden fruit, which was imputed to all his posterity, and whereby they were constituted sinners: so this obedience of Christ cannot be any act of obedience in us, be it Faith, or what you will; but the acts of Christ obeying the Law, & imputed to us, whereby we become Righteous, & are constituted Righteous in the sight of God.
17. When Paul said Phil. 3: 9. and be found in him (i. e. Christ) not having mine own righteousness, which it of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith, can he meane by this Righteousness, which he was desirous to be foundin, only Faith? If he had meaned Faith, had not that been his own Righteousness? Is not our Faith called our owne? If not, why saith Iames Chap. 2. shew me thy faith, & I will shew thee my faith. And should not this Righteousness, if his beleeving had been it, been of the Law? Or is faith according to no Law? If it be according to no Law, it is no act of obedience. Moreover, how could Faith be said to be through Faith? Is Faith a mean to it self? How can Faith be the Righteousness of God, which is by faith? Was not the Apostles scope & desire, to win Christ? And is Faith Christ?
18. If our act of beleeving be imputed to us as our Righteousness, then we cannot say. In the Lord have we righteousness, contraire to Esai. 45: 24. in order to a saying, in the Lord we shall be justified, as vers. 25. but rather in ourselves have we Righteousness, in order to this end, for Faith or our act of Beleeving is in our selves immediatly, and is said to be our Righteousness, Nor can we thus call the Lord our righteousness, contrate to Ier. 43: 6. But rather our own act of beleeving shall be our Righteousness, & trusted to as such. Nor yet could we say, that Christ is made of God to us righteousness. As it is 1 Cor. 1: 30. unless that because by vertue of his mediation, our act of beleeving is made of God to us Righteousness sure I am the emphasis of the words pointeth out some other thing, as hath been seen.
19. Is our beleeving that rob of Righteousness, wherewith the Lord covereth such, as have ground to rejoice greatly in the Lord, and to be joyful in their God Esai 61: 10? Such might as well rejoice greatly in themselves, & be joyful in themselves, & in their Beleeving.
20. Is Faith that everlasting Righteousness, that the Messias was to bring in Dan. 9: 24 Doth our act of beleeving last for ever? Paul hinteth some other thing. 1 Cor. 13.
21. When Paul saith Rom. 10: 10. that with the heart man beleeveth unto righteousness, must not this Righteousness be something distinct from beleeving? If not, we may as well say, that Confession with the mouth is the same with Salvation, for he addeth, & with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation, wherefore, as Confession is but a mean & way unto Salvation, so Beleeving is but a mean & way unto Righteousness.
22. Can we with any coloure of reason suppose, that our act of beleeving is that Righteousness of God, which is revealed from faith to faith Rom. 1. 17. Can faith be said to be revealed from it self, & to it self?
23. Our act of Beleeving cannot be that Righteousness, whereof Noah become heir Heb. 11: 7. for he became heir of this Righteousness by Faith: & he could not be said to be come heir of Faith by Faith.
24. Faith is among the works of Righteousness, which we do: and al… these works of Righteousness the Apostle excludeth from an interest in that Righteousness, where-upon we are Justified, as opposite to mercy. Tit. 3: 5. Therefore our Beleeving cannot be our Righteousness unto Justification.
25. If our act of Beleeving be imputed to us for Righteousness, then it alone must be that fine linen, wherein the lambs bride is arayed; and it must be the fine linen, that is clean and white, for this fine linen is said to be the Righteousness of the saints Revel. 19: 8. But that cannot be because our Faith is not so pure, as that it may be called clean & white linen; the Saints themselves are ashamed of their faith, as being so full of blemishes and imperfections; as also because this favour granted to her to be arayed in this linen, cometh in after that she hath made herself ready vers. 7. which (as Mr. Durham on the place sheweth) is to be meaned of Faith.
26. All this work about the Imputation of Faith taken properly, for our act of Beleeving, is made of purpose, to shoot out the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ; as is clear by Iohn Goodwines whole disput; & from his very stateing of the question part. 1. pag. 7. saying. But the Question in precise termes is this. Whether the Faith of him, who truely beleeves in Christ, or whether the Righteousness of Christ himself be in the letter & propriety of it, that which God imputes to a beleever for righteousness, or unto righteousness, in his Justification. Now let any judge which of the two hath more countenance in Scripture, when the one, to wit, the Imputation of Faith, is but to be drawn, with any show of probability, from one place of Scripture (and yet how small countenance that giveth to it shall be seen hereafter) and the other is so emphatically expressed, in so many places, both in the Old & New Testament; And which of the two deserve most the name of Righteousness, in order to our Justification: and the Imputation of which of the two is most consonant unto the genius of the Gospel Covenant, which we must suppose to be far different from the Nature & Constitution of the Covenant of Life, made with Adam; & withall, which of the two wayes speaketh out most distinctly the riches of the Love & Grace of God, & giveth most sure ground of hope & Confidence unto a poor wakened and distressed Soul; & finally, which of the two is that, which the seriously exercised Christian dar with fixedness of Resolution, Lean the weight of his soul upon, & exercised Christians finde to be that, whereupon they Loaning & resting finde Peace, & Quietness of Soul?