Of Free Justification by Christ, Book 1 · Part 14
Concerning the Praise of Repentance, the Dignity, and Benefit, and Peculiar Office thereof.
BUT you will say, to what purpose then is it to repent, The benefit and necessity of Repentance.and to amend evil deeds? or what shall be answered to these Scriptures, which promise in more places than one the pardon of all sins to those that lament their sins, and are converted unto a better life? That I may answer these, I would have you take notice of this in the first place: When we attribute the The lying calumny of Andradius, against Chemaitius.vertue of justifying to Faith, and in this case place it alone, being helped by no addition of our works: Let no man so mis-understand, as if we did drive away and … all saving Repentance, and other holy Offices of Duty and Charity from every action of life, as Andradius falsly gathers against Chemnitius.
For, that we may openly confess the truth, what else is this whole life of Godly Men, but a continual repentance, and a perpetual detestation and condemnation of sin, whilst we are forced by the Gospel with daily groans to breath forth this Petition? Forgive us our sins, as if we were conflicting in a continual place of wrestling, in which sometimes we stand by the Spirit, sometimes we fall through the infirmity of the Flesh, and sometimes we again make new repentance, yet we always overcome and triumph by Faith, to wit, obtaining the pardon of our faults, and we obtain true righteousness for ever. Therefore away with impudent slanders; let just judgment be exercised, and let things be comprehended each in their own places and bounds.
Pious tears, a serious deploring of former destruction, and a just care of living a better life, with all other pious exercises, are things, which we do not thrust away, nor put out of their place, only we search what is the place, what is the peculiar office of those things. And in the first place this is a thing that What Repentance doth by it self, what together with Faith.should not be doubted of by any Man, that Repentance, as it is an excellent gift of God, so it brings forth fruits not to be repented of, according to its Office; the Office or duty whereof I reckon to be Repentance consistsof two parts.twofold. The first is, that which duly detests the sins committed. The other, that which diligently endeavours the Reformation of the life, from which follows both great praise, and greater fruits, and also very great incitements to vertue. For he that being weary of his former wickedness applys his mind wholly to amend his ungodly Life by a future reformation; verily he hath made a great progress towards Salvation, but he is not therefore as yet put into a certain possession of Salvation, or because of that, taken up with the Penitent Malefactor into Paradise. For it is one thing to weep for the things that one hath done amiss, and another thing to obtain the pardon of them. Verily he that seriously purposes with himself to amend his life, I judge that he ought justly to be praised; but yet that is not enough, as I suppose, to turn away the anger of an offended God, to put away the heinous nature of Sin, to procure a clear tranquility of How far the fruit of Repentance …Conscience, and to shake off the tyranny of death; for to obtain that Victory, we will need another Panoply, or compleat Armour than Repentance, or the forces of our vertues; for nothing that we can do is sufficient to bring this to pass, but only faith in the Son of God. And therefore Repentance with Charity, and other Offices of that kind, have a necessary connexion with faith; not that they may give form to this as to a dead matter, but that rather they may receive life and Spirit Faith in Christ justifies Charity, but Charity doth not justifie Faith. Augustin in quinquage, Prolo. Psal. 31.from it: not that Faith hath need of these for justification, but that they themselves may be justified by the value received by Faith in Christ, which unless they were recommended upon the account of that Faith would all be abominable in the sight of God; and though they may be call'd works, yet cannot be call'd good works in Gods account, unless they are supported by Faith. Whence Augustin admonishing, not without cause, commands us to believe in him that justifies the Wicked, that our very good works may be good works; for those deserve not to be called good, as long as they proceed not from a good root, &c. But here you object approved Testimonies and Examples, rehearsed out of the Sacred Oracles of Divine Scripture, in which, without any mention of Faith, Salvation is assuredly promised to them that Repent, as in Ezekiel, I de sire not the death of a Sinner, but Ezek. 18.that the wicked should turn from his way and live: There are set before us the Examples of the Ninivites, of David, Ionah 3. 2 Sam. 12. 2 Kings 21. Osor. lib. de just. p. 42. An … of Osorius. An Answer.Manasseh and others; and lest I should weary you with Rehearsing of every one of them, which are infinite, I will make a short Collection of the whole inatter. You say that thus the Prophets proclaim, and openly avouch this thing, that there is no hope of Salvation shewed unto any, but only those, who are with their whole heart brought back from an unclean and wicked life to the practise of Holiness, &c. And presently concluding with this Opinion, you teach us that there is no other way at all either to avert destruction, or procure salvation.
Lest I should speak many things in vain, there is one Answer abundantly sufficient for all such Objections; that there is indeed necessarily required a sincere reformation of heart and life, in these who are to obtain life; as in an Heir, for whom there is appointed the possession of an Inheritance to be enjoyed, there is necessarily required dutifulness towards his Father, which dutifulness, nevertheless, when it is most exactly performed, is not any cause of obtaining the inheritance. And in like manner there is nothing that can be more certain, than that Repentance and Renovation do much commend the life of Christians to God; yet it makes them not Christians, neither doth it so much commend the person of the Penitent, as it is it self commended by the dignity of the man: who, if he is a Christian, his Repentance is approved. But, if he be an Alien from the faith, the lamenting of sin doth not at all profit for the obtaining of Righteousness, neither doth it take away Sin. But as you Ier. 11. Ezek. 33. Ezek. 18.say, Repentance hath Divine Promises, and indeed I am not against your Opinion in that, for God doth not desire the death of a Sinner, promising also life to him that repents. That's right. But let us see how he promises it, and by pondering the Circumstances of things, times, and persons, let us consider what is promised, and to whom, and what is the true cause of promising. Indeed the old Law hath dark promises, the Gospel also hath its own promises, as both Covenants have likewise their own atonements. I do not deny it, but this I ask what manner of promises hath repentance in the Old Law? God promiseth life to them that return from their wickedness. What? doth he signifie an eternal or a temporary peace and felicity of this outward life? If you answer an eternal, I would then know what difference there will be between Legal and Evangelical Promises? but when I do stedfastly contemplate upon the nature and kind of both times and testaments in the holy word of God, and compare the vertue of one Kingdom with the other, this seems to me to be the difference between Moses and Christ; that I suppose all his Blessings and Rewards promised by God Legal Promises.to those that lead their life according to the prescript of the Law, go not beyond the bounds of a certain earthly blessedness and recompence. In which, notwithstanding we think there are contained no small benefits of God. For what could happen to any man in this mortal state, to which we are all of necessity subject, not only more desirable, but also of a larger extent by the wonderful power of God, than when you are by the singular gift of God placed in such a Commonwealth, which by a wonderful fruitfulness, and plenty of all good things, excells all other Nations whatsoever; you should then pass your life in it, being compassed about with the Divine Protection, that you may not only your self live long in the Land, which the Lord your God hath given you, but that it should also be well with your Sons after you, through all Generations: that you may maintain your state with dignity, and abundance of all the best things, that the adversity of common fortune may have no power over you, that no Enemy may annoy you, no tempest may cloud your tranquility, that no storm of evil things may shake you: that at home and abroad, whether you are in the field, or in your house, going out or coming in, all things may happen successfully to you, according to your hearts desire; and moreover, that God should so bless all your wealth and works of your hands, and that at no time the powerful providence of God should forsake you unto the utmost bounds of the most aged life; unto these add the plenteous fruitfulness of the Land, the incomes of Fruits and Corn, the continual increases Blessings proposed in the Law.of wealth, the constant fruitfulness of Cattle, besides other very plentiful Promises and Blessings of the like kind, whereof there is a long Catalogue described in the Law, which are appointed for those, who inviolably obey the most holy Precepts of God, and turn from their Sins to Righteousness. All which Promises being by the Prophets set before the Penitent, seem to me to be of such a sort, that they either signifie temporary Rewards in this World, and mitigate outward punishments in this Life; or if they be referred to eternal Life, they do The Preaching of repentance belongs to the Gospel.at least imply the faith of a Mediatour, by a certain silent condition. And therefore among Divines there are learned and famous men, who do rightly and learnedly prove, that the Preaching of Repentance belongs peculiarly to the Gospel and not to the Law. For the Law Preaches Damnation to Sinners. The Gospel Preaches Salvation to the Penitent. Therefore when the Lord says, return and ye shall be saved, I desire not the death of a sinner, &c. It is not the Preaching of the Law, which pronounces the Sentence of Condemnation without mercy: but it is the very voice of the Gospel.
And this seems to me to be the chief difference between Moses and Moses was a certain earthly Christ, Christ is a certain heavenly Moses.Christ, that like as he being as it were a certain earthly Christ, procures an earthly liberty to the people, and sets before them the duties that are incumbent upon them in leading their lives; so all the doctrine and benefits of Christ are peculiarly and chiefly directed unto life eternal, and calls us thereunto especially from this world. But if we suppose that these legal promises should notwithstanding be referred to eternal life, yet when they did not pass the bounds of that people only, and reached not to other Nations, but to those peculiarly, who waited for the Seed promised to them, therefore the promises of the Law included faith at least by a certain silent condition. Wherefore as touching those legal promises, in which the holy Prophets held out unto them, that repented and were converted, pardon and many other benefits, in these must be considered, not only what is promised, but also, to whom the promise is made, as being such, as belonged not to others, but those only, who being descended from the Seed of Abraham, were contained in the Convenant, and had a right to the Lamb slain from the beginning. Therefore according to the authority of Augustin, we ought always to look to the root in such promises, and the mind should always be raised up to the Mediator of the New Covenant, in whom alone all the Promises of God are yea and Amen. Which seeing it is so, and seeing all the Promises of Eternal Life are contained in this only Mediator Christ, as in the only Ark of the Covenant, neither is there any faculty given us by God, which attains to the knowledge of Christ and the understanding of his benefits, but faith only; therefore it is, that this illuminated faith, which only leads us to the knowledge of Christ, claims to it self only The object of Faith. We are justified in the New Testament after the same manner, that the Hebrews were healed, when they were stung by the Serpents.all power of Iustifying without any other means, not so much because of the dignity of its act, or upon some account of charity joined with it, whereby it should be formed, but only upon the account, and by the vertue of its object, unto which it is bent, from whence it receives all this power of healing, just as the Israelites of old, when they were envenomed with deadly Poison, regained their health, not because they had Eyes and a power of beholding, but because they fastned their Eyes at the command of God upon the Serpent, that was set up before Ioh. 3. That every one that sees the Son and Believeth in him may have eternal life. Ioh. 8. Unless ye believe that I am he, ye shall dye in your sins.their Eyes. In like manner also it comes to pass to us, that whereas it is Christ only, that bestows everlasting Life and Righteousness on them that behold him, and he becomes not a Saviour, unless he be received by Faith, hence the inward sight of Faith being fixed upon him, brings Salvation. Whence by evident demonstration, an argument is framed from principles and causes, issuing into conclusions by necessary consequence according to Scriptures. As this,
Ma. The only beholding of the Serpent set up, without any other condition being added, healed the wounded.
Mi. Christ is the Serpent set up for us; Therefore,
Concl The only beholding of (that is, faith in) Christ set up for us, without any additions whatsoever brings healing to our wounds.
And I know the adversaries will The Papists deny not Christ to be a Saviour, but they do not well agree in the manner how he Saves. The Council of Trent, Hosius, Andradius, Canisius.not deny that Christ is the only Serpent, who being made a Curse for us, makes a Medicine for our Wounds. But if you ask, how? They will answer one thing, and the holy Scriptures another: they affirm that this is performed on this account, because Christ being punished for us on the Cross, hath by his Merits obtained for us the infusion of Charity. Which because it is the perfection of the Law, therefore being acquired by the Merit of Christ, and received by our free-will, it brings forth righteousness, not that, A typical similitude between Christ and the Serpent healing wounds. Ioh. 3. Isa. 53.whereby we are accounted for just, but whereby we are both truly just, and deserve life. But verily this Sophism neither agrees with the History of the Israelites, nor satisfies the argument propounded. For if those that were then wounded by the Serpents, by only beholding the Serpent without any other intermediate cause, received present health: verily either this type bears not the similitude of Christ, or Christ heals us by faith in his name only without interposing the remedy of Charity. Otherways the mutual proportion of similitude between us and them, between Christ and the Serpent, will not rightly agree. They lifted up their outward eyes, we our inward, they to the serpent, we to Christ. Both by beholding obtain health through the Promise of God; they the health of their Bodies, we of our Souls. They presently in beholding at the first sight, were healed in the same moment, by no endeavour of their own, but only upon the account of the Object, and by vertue of the Promise. And what other thing doth this mystical adumbration signifie, but Iustification freely prepared and promised to us, by the sole contemplation of the Object, whereby we apprehend Christ by Faith? Will you hear the Promise? That every one who seeth him may not perish, but have eternal Life? And elsewhere. And this righteous servant of mine by his knowledge shall Iustifie many. But what is it to see him, but to believe in him? What is the knowledge of that righteous one, but the Faith of Christ, which Iustifies from sin? Therefore what external aspect was to them, that the light of Faith is to us. What Health was to them, Iustification is to us, whereby we are delivered from the Curse of sin, and are absolved without punishment. But if you ask, what way? There is an answer in readiness to wit, according to the very similitude of the Serpent, not by any labour of ours, but by contemplation of the Object only, and by vertue of the Promise. I pray you what is more evident? What more agreeable? And what then should be said to those ill-employed men, who by their new doctrine translate Free Iustification, which is due only to Faith by vertue of the Promise of God, unto works of Charity.