Of Free Justification by Christ, Book 1 · Part 33
What Benesits come to us from Christ, and what should be chiefly regarded in these Benefits.
NOW this is it in which chiefly the unspeakable amplitude of Divine Grace towards us doth evidently shine forth, that God the Almighty Governour and Creatour of the World, according to his fingular Mercy, wherewith he hath loved the World, having given his Son, sent him to us, and so sent him, that he for us hath fulfilled all Righteousness; for there was no need that he should fulfil it for himself, and if he hath fulfilled it for us, what hinders now, but that may be ours, which was done for us? or Christ fulfilled all the Law, not for himself, but for us; if for us, then we also fulfil it by him. Tho. 12. 109. pag. 259.to what purpose should he do that for us, which he knew was necessary to be done by our selves for our Salvation? But what if according to the saying of Thomas, Whatsoever things we can do by Friends, we our selves are said to be able to do it in some respect: How much better then may we our selves be supposed both to be able to do, and also to have done those things which a Friend is not only able to do for us, but hath also done for us? and this is that grace chiefly, which every where the Evangelical Writings sound sorth unto us; unto which all our both consolation & salvation should be referred; which Paul the Apostle having received from Christ, did propagate it with so continued labour among the Gentiles and taught it with so great fervour of spirit and made it evident with so many Signs and Miracles, and also confirmed it with so many Scriptures and most sure Testimonies. Wherefore those Papists are the more worthy to be abhorred as being Enemies to Antiquity, and Enemies to Paul; who seem to be busied about nothing else, but to abolish the Gospel of Christ, and to overturn the Foundations of the Doctrine of the Apostles, that have been long since very well laid by our first Fathers, and to sow another Gospel in the The Roman Catholicks falsly so called, obtrude another Gospel upon us,minds of Christians: For what else doth all their Doctrine drive at, who disputing about Grace, Faith and Righteousness, do so handle the matter by their Philosophical Principles, that he who observes their Collections, Distinctions, Corollaries and Opinions, will perceive that they do not teach as Christians out of the Gospel, out of Christ, out of Paul, but that the Antient Philosophers of the old Academy, or the Thalmudists of the Law of Moses are again risen up and alive; except that this only difference is between them, and the Antient Philosophers, that these do palliate with the name of Grace, and Faith in words, at least in some manner, but in reality, as touching the signification of the word Grace, or the force of the word Faith, they seem to be so very blind, as if they had read Paul little, or at least had not at all understood him. I do not rail at the men themselves, The sum of all our Salvation and Religion is chiefly discerned in two things, Faith and Renovation by Grace. Grace. Faith.whom I rather account worthy of pity, but it is not at all convenient to endure the Errours of men, because they cast no small blot upon Religion, and are injurious to Christ, and do violence to Paul, overthrow the simplicity of the Christian Faith; moreover they adulterate all the sincerity of Evangelical Doctrine with their Niceties, and after a certain manner subdue it unto humane Philosophy. Which that it may appear the more evidently to the Minds and Eyes of beholders, let it not be tedious to you to hearken a while, first what Divine Truth, and then what Humane Opinions teach us.
But because there are two things chiefly in which the whole sum both of our Salvation and Religion is contained, Grace, and Faith, of which the one belongs to God towards men, the other agrees to men towards God: It very much concerns Christians, that their Minds be very well instructed in both. And Grace indeed is discerned in those good things that are given to us, and promised by God. Faith is exercised in those Offices, which are chiefly due from us to God, and are greatly requisite. Therefore that we may rightly apprehend the nature of Grace, we must see what and how great those gifts are, which the bounty of God hath partly bestowed upon us, and partly promised: Concerning which thing it remains that we should examine what the Scriblers of Popish Divinity do hold. Now what they teach about this matter, is for the most part to this purpose. They place the end of humane Life in blessedness, and the School-Divines dispute about this very blessedness Wherein Beatitude consists according to the Shcolastick Doctors. Divines disputing about the chief good.just after such a manner as the Philosophers of old did of their chiefest good; unto which every man, must endeavour according to his power, to attain by industry and diligent labours, and the merits of the greatest Vertues. And when the former Pelagians affirmed that we could do Pelagians Adversaries of Grace.that by the strength of Nature, there were not wanting others at the same time, who valiantly opposing the help of the Grace of Augustine a defender of Grace against the Pelagians.God to Free-will, successfully rejected and exploded this wicked Opinion by the Scriptures. After this came another kind of Divines, who having followed Augustine, The Papists Semipelagians.disputed thus against the Pelagians, that we cannot so much as will good by Free-will without Grace, or merit Eternal Life by any means without Grace. And that is true indeed. But that those same men joyning Grace again, deny not that we can merit Life by Works, and that ex condigno according to their worth; I do not see what difference is between these and the Pelagians in that; except that in the manner of working they somewhat differ; for those work without grace, these no otherways but by grace; but both do equally Wherein the Papists agree with the Pelagians.err from the scope of true Iustification: For as untrue as that is, that it is in our power to perform any thing aright without the Grace of God: It is again as false, that this grace of working was not given by God for any other purpose, but to produce meritorious works, whereby we may be justified. Though I deny not that by any means that the Divine grace of How Thomas Aquin. and the Thomists define grace.the Spirit is both fruitful and abounding with the greatest Vertues, which can never be idle; but it doth not therefore follow by sufficient strength of Reason, that the reward of Eternal Salvation is due to the merits of these Vertues, as the generality of Sophisters chatter with a great noise in Schools: For thus Thomas the Prince of this Faction, and the others that are partakers of his Discipline discourse of grace, and in their Summularies do define this grace, as if it were nothing else, but a certain habitual infusion of the heavenly gift in the essence of the Soul, because, (as they suppose) it is a principle of meritorious Tho. 129. 109. Art. 6. That the will may be prepared to work well, and to enjoy God, there is required an habitual gift of Grace, which is the principle of a meritorious work.works; for so Thomas defines it. And Guillermus not much differing from him, calls this grace a form freely given to us by God without merits, which makes him that hath it acceptable, and makes his work good, and meritorious. Of these then is a vulgar definition made up, and it thus defines grace unto us, that it is, a gift of good will freely given, making its possessor acceptable, and rendring Guillerm. in sentent. lib. 2. qu. 26. Art. 1. a common definition among the Schoolmen. Albert. in sentent. lib. 2. dist. 26. Art. 2.his work good. And Albert shews the manner how it makes a man good; in as much as by infused Vertues, as he says, it perfects the will of man for act, &c.
By these things, I suppose, it appears Grace is a habit in the essence of the Soul, which according to infused Vertues make perfect for act, & makes the possessor good. A vulgar and usual defininition of Grace in the Schools. The Schoolmen disagree with one another in the manner of Grace. …, …, ….evident enough what Opinion hitherto hath been usual amongst those men in the Popish School. In which neither their Divines themselves are well enough agreed with one another; for some place this habitual gift of influencing grace in the essence of the Soul subjectively (that I may speak in their own Dialect) amongst whom is Thomas and Bonaventure. Others chose rather to refer it not to the essence, but the powers of the Soul as its proper subject, of whom is Scotus, and the Allies of that Order.
Again, There are those who Osor. lib. 5. p. 26. Dost thou deny Grace to be a Vertue? what then is Grace if it is not a Veatue? Thomas against Osorius.think grace is nothing else but a Vertue; which is the thing that Osorius strongly defends in his Books. But Thomas confutes this Heresie with much greater strength, and bears it down with suitable Reasons. But the summ of all their summs drives at this, that Faith only may be excluded from Iustification, and that they may not acknowledge any other Iustification, but what consists in exercising of Works: Neither do they think this grace to be given to us upon any other account, but for this end, to fulfil (as they say) the Commands of God, according Faith excluded from Iustification by the Thomists. Thom. 12. q. 109. Art. 5.to the due manner, without which the fulfilling of them cannot otherways be meritorious.