A Fresh Antidote Against Neonomian Bane, Chapter 18 – Errata 2
CHAP. XVIII. What Intereſt and concern Faith hath in our Iuſtification.
Section 1. Of the Nature of Faith as ſpoken of. §. 2. What this Faith is? §. 3. And how we are ſaid to be Justified by Faith. §. 4. Arg. To prove that Faith is not our Righteouſneſs.
Section 1. HAving proved Chriſt's Righteouſneſs to be the only Righteouſneſs for a Sinner's Juſtification in Gods ſight, and that this Righteouſneſs is certainly Imputed to every one that believes; we ſhall in the laſt place enquire, what concern and intreſt Faith hath in our Juſtification? I ſhall not ſpeak of Faith accompanying Salvation at large (as the Apoſtle doth Heb. 11: Wherein he alſo comprehends Juſtifying, (among the other Senſes there ſpoken of) but only of Faith as it referrs to) Juſtification and the righteouſneſs thereof.
§. 2. Juſtifying Faith is a gift of God, whereby a poor ſinner believes in God unto eternal life thro Jeſus Chriſt. 1. It is a gift of God, in reſpect of the grace of God and the work of the Spirit, Eph. 2.8. 2. It is a purchaſed benefit for an Elect perſon. 2 Pet. 1. 3. It's a Gift to a Sinner; there's no grace lives tell Faith, then Chriſt lives in him; its to a poor undone broken Sinner. 4. This is a gift of grace to believe in God and Chriſt; 1. To be perſwaded of the truth of the Law, his certain curſe under it, impoſſibility of coming to the works thereof; That its a ſaying worthy of all acceptance, that Chriſt came into the world to ſave Sinners, whereof Paul ſaith, he was one of the chiefeſt; not that he was righteous ſubordinately to Chriſt's to qualify him for it: This is that which is properly call'd fides, but its hard to diſtinguiſh this from the Faith of a natural man and hipocrite; therefore, 2. There is believing in i. e. reſting upon God and Chriſt, reſting on the faithfulneſs of God in his promiſe of a good thing to us, as for eternal life, and for righteouſneſs in Chriſt; now faithfulneſs belongs to perſons; truth unto things, when the Soul doth not only believe the thing promiſed true, but believes him faithful who hath promiſed, and from thence doth ſtay himſelf and his Soul acquiſce in it. This is properly fiducia, truſting in God. 3. There's a particular application of Chriſt in the promiſe and the Soul unto God in Chriſt, believing that all the promiſes, eſpecially thoſe that concern eternal life and juſtification by Chriſt's righteouſneſs, are yea and Amen in him, made and perform'd in him.
§. 3. Hence, by Faith we are ſaid to be juſtified. 1. Becauſe the righteouſneſs of Chriſt is the object of our Faith; it is that we believe to, and come unto believing, Rom. 10.10. We believe unto righteouſneſs. 2. By Faith a man is devorced from the Law and legal righteouſneſs, and comes into a new marriage relation to Chriſt for righteouſneſs and life. Rom. 7.3. Becauſe its that grace only whereby a man can go out of himſelf, and fetch in the righteouſneſs of another. 4. It is that grace which from the very law of its nature which it hath thro grace, doth always deny it ſelf any thing of righteouſneſs for Juſtification and gives all the glory of righteouſneſs unto Chriſt alone. 5. In that it doth fiducially reſt and depend thereon believing. 6. It dwells upon an object of righteouſneſs which is not ſeen, by ſence or reaſon, yea it is the hypoſtaſis of Chriſt's righteouſneſs in the Soul; Chriſt lives as it were in our Faith, take away Chriſt from it, and you leave it a dead nothing or worſe, it returns to unbelief. 7. Becauſe by this Faith the Soul ſees God at peace with him, and he hath peace in himſelf, and the controverſy is at an end between God and him, thro this Imputed and believed righteouſneſs. 8. The juſtified one as he draws his firſt breath of the new man in believing unto righteouſneſs, ſo he lives upon this righteouſneſs in all his Chriſtian courſe, in that Chriſts righteouſneſs may be called the righteouſneſs of Faith, for Meat and Drink. John 6.51, 53. 9. Faith hath hereby all juſtifiable ways to God, Chriſt is thereby his way unto the Father, he can have acceſs to the grace wherein he ſtands, comes thro this righteouſneſs with boldneſs to the Throne of grace, and receives remiſſion of ſins, and every good, and perfect gift, God having not ſpared his Son, but given him for us, hence he will not withhold any good thing. 10. As it receives all grace in and with juſtifying grace, ſo it gives and aſcribes all to free grace in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, both the gift of righteouſneſs and faith it ſelf, and the life eternal given to ſuch a poor wretch in and thro Jeſus Chriſt. 11. In that this grace being filled with Chriſts righteouſneſs, is leading to all fruits of Chriſts righteouſneſs imputed and believed, all which appear in the exerciſe of all holy affections, graces and duties to the mortification of ſin and growth in obedience and conformity to Chriſt.
§. 14. Now having ſhewed the Excellency of this Grace in its Nature and Kind, we muſt ſhew you that it is not Chriſt, nor muſt not take his Throne or Crown from him, yea abhors nothing more if true, but will keep a Believer always a poor, humble, broken, and contrite hearted Sinner. Therefore we aſſert, and Chriſt with his whole Word will ſtand by us in it, that our Faith as a Grace of the Spirit or Work of ours is not imputed for Righteouſneſs to Juſtification; I ſhall but Name a few Arguments convincing enough, and ſhew thereby the way to others to do the ſame.
1. Faith is for the Honour of Chriſt our High-Prieſt upon the Throne, if it takes to it ſelf juſtifying Righteouſneſs, it takes the Crown from his Head, and ſets it upon his own for the great end of Chriſt's Humiliation and Exaltation, was the working out of this Righteouſneſs.
2. If Faith be our Righteouſneſs, then Faith is its own Object, when you bid Men believe unto Juſtification, you muſt bid them believe in themſelves; and bid them by Faith go to their Faith for Righteouſneſs and Life, what's Abſurder?
3. If God impute Faith it ſelf as a Work to Juſtification, then Faith muſt be imputed as meritorious of Juſtification. For, 1. Chriſts Righteouſneſs is ſo imputed. 2. No Righteouſneſs can be imputed otherwiſe to Juſtification, but ſuch as is meritorious of it, Juſtification being a Law-act.
4. Faith making it ſelf Righteouſneſs for Juſtification by a Law, makes it ſelf altogether Legal as much as any Works whatever, inſomuch, that it is not an evangelical Work, ſo that it ought not to juſtifie as a Work by their own Rule, that we are not juſtified by the legal works, but we have proved all their Works legal.
5. That that can't cover Sin, and take off the Imputation of it can't be juſtifying Righteouſneſs and take off the the Imputation of Sin, for faith did not die for Sin, or was made a Sacrifice for it to bear the Sin of many.
6 The Prieſts and Sacrifices of Old were Types of Chriſts Righteouſneſs for Juſtification of a Sinner, not of the Sinners righteouſneſs; and the faithful looked upon themſelves as ſinners Typically juſtified in the Righteouſneſs Typified, and not in their Faith as a Work done.
7. If our Faith in it ſelf be our Righteouſneſs, then our unbelief is, for that Faith muſt believe that Chriſts Righteouſneſs is not imputed to us for Juſtification, this his high unbelief according to the Scripture.
8. If Faith ſay it juſtifie as a Work, then Faith excludes it ſelf, the very Nature of it; the Neonomian ſay, the Law of Faith is the New-law, if ſo, then it excludes it ſelf, for the Law of Faith excludes boaſting, and Works of a Law; i. e. the very Nature of Faith, if it be good, is ſo.
9. If Faith juſtifie as a Work, then Faith juſtifies not without Works, for if it be a Work it ſelf, and juſtifying as ſuch, then it juſtifieth not without Works, becauſe it is a Work, contrary to Rom. 4.6.
10. If Faith be Imputed for Righteouſneſs, then the Blood of Chriſt is not, but we are to be juſtified by the Blood of Chriſt, and the Scripture ſaith, we are, by Faith in his Blood.
11. If Faith Juſtifies as a Work, then no more is aſcribed to Faith than to other Graces in the concern of our Juſtification; but the Apoſtle aſcribes more concern to Faith than other Graces; and then why doth he oppoſe Faith to Works? Is it not, that its more the Office of Faith as to Juſtification, the Neonomian ſay, it is the ſame with other Graces, &c. So Mr. Cl. Juſtifying Faith is the ſame thing in Subſtance with Effectual Calling, Repentance, Regeneration, forming Chriſt in the Soul, the new Creature, &c. Is not a great deal of the Scripture in vain, hath not Paul wrote two Epiſtles in vain, where he makes it his Main Buſineſs to beat down Juſtification by Works, and oppoſe them to one another, and now he tells us, that Faith and Goſpel Works [i. e. legal] are all one.
12. That which juſtifies as a Righteouſneſs, juſtifies eternally, Dan. 9. but Faith can't juſtifie eternally, becauſe Faith ceaſeth in Heaven, but juſtifying Righteouſneſs doth not, yea all the Righteouſneſs of the New-law muſt ceaſe, 1 Cor. 13.10.
14. That which is not the faederal Condition of the Covenant of Grace, can't be our Righteouſneſs in it ſelf; but Faith is not the faederal Condition, becauſe Faith is promiſed in the Covenant, given by Grace purchaſed by Chriſt, part of Eternal Life, a means to lay hold of the Condition; but I ſhall not enlarge upon this now, only make one Quotation at laſt. Mr. R. Capel, who wrote of Temptation, ſaith, ſpeaking of the Conditions of the Covenant. In this Matter I am of the Opinion of Kendal, that the Covenant (he means of Grace) was not made with us, but with Chriſt [this was the Aſſembly's Judgment] for us; and for the main, I am clear of Opinion, that the Covenant of Grace cannot ſtand with any Condition of ours at all, for that I wiſh the Learned to conſult Junius. To deliver my Opinion, Adam caſting himſelf out of his Eſtate, the Covenant of Works fell void: Then it pleaſed God to fill up this Room with a New Covenant, commonly called his laſt Teſtament, wherein he bequeathed Grace and Glory on no other Condition that I know of out of the Scriptures, but the Death of the Teſtator, i. e. Jeſus Chriſt, that as the Firſt Covenant was built on the Righteouſneſs of the firſt Adam, ſo the Second was built on the Righteouſneſs of the ſecond. It is beyond my Brain to conceive, that God ſhould immediately make a Covenant with us, who were Children of Diſobedience and of Wrath, who could not be capable of any ſuch Covenant or Conditions, but it was with Chriſt for us, Adam loſt his Righteouſneſs, the Foundation of the firſt Covenant, but the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt the Second can never be loſt, and therefore the ſecond Covenant or rather Teſtament, can never be broken or diſanulled, Condition of the Covenant, p. 260.
Errata.
PAge 38. line 2. read partaker. p. 39. l. 32. r. relaxed. p. 42. l. 23. r. Juſtice. p. 43. l. 36. r. we could not. p. 46. l. 17. r. per quam. p. 48. l. 16. r. Is it by Imputation? p. 49. l. 22. r. God juſtifies. p. 50. l. 34. r. their ſins. p. 57. l. 34. r. the only. p. 64. l. 23. dele; r. bottom they muſt be Pelagians. p. 66. l. 2. r. is it not ſo? p. 72. l. 27. dele …. p. ibid. l. 28. r. foreign. p. 73. l. 40. r. Chriſts righteouſneſs and us. p. 78. l. 27. r. would not be. p. 79. l. prope antep. dele no. p. 85. l. 16. r. Gal. 3.21. p. 86. l. 21. r. Gal. 3.21. p. 87. l. 3. ab ult. r. for Saviour. ſelf. p. 88. l 23. r. Gal. 3.21. l. 37. r. is manifeſt. p. 99. l. 16. dele not. p. 100. l. 3. dele and l. 6. r. yea. 123. l. 13. r. addicted to it, l. 35. r. ſhould not be. p. 126. l. 10. r. righteouſneſs twice. p. 133, l. 13. foreign l. 31. falſe Hebrew. p. 134. l. 20. r. foreign. p. 148. l. 17. r. foreign, l. 29. r. foreign for foreign. l. 34. dele the before events. p. 149. l. 5. r. foreign. p. 155. l. 6. a fine, r. unprofitable. p. 158. l. 6. ab ult. r. foreign. 159 falſe Hebrew. p. 160. l. 6. ab ult. r. Arg. 3, The righteouſneſs for which, and by which a ſinner is juſtified.
End of the text · Isaac Chauncy, A Fresh Antidote Against Neonomian Bane (1700)