Letters Between Humfrey and Clark, Letter
Sir Charles Wolſeley TO Mr. Humfrey, UPON His ſight of the foregoing LETTERS.
My very worthy Friend,
THE Sheets you were pleaſed to ſend me, containing your Letters and Mr. Clark's, pleaſe me very well, and you have obliged me by them. I know no Man has travelled into the Controverſie of Juſtification with better ſucceſs than your ſelf: You have I think with great Accuracy and Judgment ſearched into, and found out the genuine Meaning of St. Paul's Expreſſions, touching that important Point; And particularly in your clearing to us, what is meant by the Righteouſneſs of God, ſo often mentioned by St. Paul. It has generally been taken for the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, you have made it very evident to me to be meant of the Righteouſneſs of Faith, and that is a Key of ſingular uſe to unlock us into the true Notion of Goſpel-Juſtification. I like what you have written ſo very well, that what I have to ſay to it will be contained in theſe two words, Probatum eſt. I am not a little ſatisfied to find that what I have formerly written on that ſubject, does ſo perfectly Coaleſce with your Sentiments throughout. There is only one thing wherein you and I ſeem any thing to differ, either in Senſe or Expreſſion, and that is touching Pardon of Sin, to which you may poſſibly think I do allow a greater ſhare in Juſtification than I ought; but I think you will find that you and I are upon very good Terms of concord therein. Faith and Goſpel obedience I acknowledge do conſtitute us Evangelically Righteous, but are not ſuch a Righteouſneſs as to make God reckon us for innocent Perſons, for ſo we are not, (for every Man that is in Heaven is there as a pardoned Sinner) as well as a righteous Perſon in Goſpel Senſe, for that is a Righteouſneſs contrived by God to qualifie an Offender for Pardon, and ſtands in direct oppoſition to that Righteouſneſs by Works St. Paul inveighs ſo much againſt; but it ſerves us in as much ſtead as if we were ſo, for it entitles us to all the Benefits of Chriſts Satisfaction, qualifies us for, helps us to Pardon of Sin, and Acceptance with God, and ſo our Goſpel-righteouſneſs in effect is but to procure Pardon, and therefore it is that the Scriptures that were not writ with any Relation to thoſe nice and ſubtle diſtinctions, which Men have ſince uſed in interpreting of them, do chiefly intend to expreſs their plain and genuine Meaning of Things, and in an eſpecial manner by various Expreſſions of the ſame thing do ſet forth the amplitude of Goſpel-ſalvation. 'Tis evident from the 4th of the Romans and the 7th, that imputing Righteouſneſs, and Forgiveneſs of Sin are inſeparable, and therefore ſometimes Juſtification is ſpoken of in Scripture in its Cauſe, which is imputing Righteouſneſs by Faith, and ſometimes in its Effect, which is Pardon; Therefore I am well pleaſed to ſay with you, to adjuſt and comprehend that matter right, that the formalis ratio of Juſtification is Goſpel-faith and Obedience, and Pardon of ſin the neceſſary Conſequent, Concomitant and Effect of it, and he that will give any other account of it, muſt (I believe) make uſe of ſome other Doctor than St. Paul. To think of obtaining Pardon any other way than by performing the Goſpel-conditions of Faith and Obedience, is a great Antinomian folly, and a dangerous Error. I am very ſenſible that thoſe that pretend above others to exalt free Grace, and take no notice of the Goſpel Conditions upon the Performance of which it is only diſpenſed, do it ſeemingly, but not in truth and reality, and as it ſhould be done, and are dangerous Miſ-leaders: Such Notions do generally gratifie all falſe Profeſſors, and often inſnare and miſguide the trueſt. Chriſts part is certainly performed, the great buſineſs is to ſtir Men up to perform their's; for when Chriſt had perfected the Salvation of the World, what then? Was there a a Proclamation publiſhed from Heaven, That all Men were thereupon actually ſaved? No, 'twas far otherwiſe: but God thereupon enters into a new Covenant with the World, and proclaims a Law of Grace with this Condition annexed, He that believes ſhall be ſaved, and he that believes not ſhall be condemned. He becomes the Author of Eternal Salvation only to thoſe that obey him: 'Tis in other words to ſay, He that believes the Goſpel and becomes obedient to it ſhall have the benefit of Chriſts purchaſe. I look upon it as a moſt prophane Error to ſay, that God ever intended to carry any Man to Heaven without a perſonal Righteouſneſs, ſuch an Opinion ſtands in direct oppoſition to the purity of his Attributes, and the Oeconomy of his Government. What both you and I have written, does truly and according to Gods way of diſpenſing it, exalt Grace as much as it can be, for we aſcribe all that we have under the Goſpel intirely to Grace: When we ſpeak of Faith and Goſpel-obedience, we only ſpeak of the method in which the Grace of God and the Merits of Chriſt are diſpenſed, for we acknowledge that our Faith and Obedience in themſelves are very impotent and defective, and of no value, as to the Point of Juſtification, farther than God is pleaſed to impute and reckon them out of Grace and Favour to our advantage, as Methods by him appointed to bring us into all the bleſſed effects of Chriſts purchaſe.
Sir, I am alſo to thank you for that you have in your late Writings, Collected, Adjuſted and Interpreted the diſperſed Notions upon this Subject, in the Works of that moſt Excellent Perſon, your particular Friend and mine, Mr. Baxter, who was the early Promulger and conſtant Defender of the Right Scripture Doctrine of Justification. Tho' no Man pays a greater deference than I do to his Memory, yet this I muſt needs ſay to you, touching what he has writ about this Point and many others, his Writings are haunted with a crowd of Logical Diſtinctions, which do much obſcure, I had almoſt ſaid deface his clear and excellent Senſe; he needed not have choſen that method of expreſſing himſelf, for tho' he never wore the Gowns of either Univerſity upon his back, yet he had the Learning of them both in his Head, and that was very perſpicuous in all his Writings. I am alſo to thank you for rectifying the Notions of that exceeding pious and learned Perſon Doctor Owen touching this Matter, wherein I think you have been very ſucceſiful. I ſuppoſe you know his Book of Juſtification was particularly written againſt mine. Very many have preſſed me to anſwer it, which I acknowledge to you I did not look upon as duram provinciam. The great Friendſhip that was between him and me, might well ſeem ſufficient to have byaſſed me not to reply; but the true reaſon was, I thought that little Cottage I had erected was in no great danger of being ſhocked or demoliſhed by any thing in that Book. The Doctrine of perſonal Imputation of Chriſts Righteouſneſs to every Believer, which that moſt Learned Perſon aſſerts and defends is ſo Unſcriptural, having not one Text to defend it, has ſo many Unjuſtifiable and contradictory Conſequences attending it; and indeed there are ſo many Triumphs over it by thoſe that have written againſt it in the Bookſellers Shops, that it is ſcarce worth any Mans while to harneſs himſelf for the defence of that Point. If when Men ſpeak of imputing Chriſts Righteouſneſs to every Believer, they mean the imputing of it only in the Effects and Advantages of it, they ſay what you and I ſay.
Sir, I am very well ſatisfied you have done this Age very good Service, to convince Men of the neceſſity of performing the Goſpel-Conditions, if ever they will reap the benefit of what Chriſt hath done for us. Faith and ſincere Obedience is the way by which God juſtified and ſaved Abraham, the Father of the Faithful, and in him gave an inſtance how all Men, to the Worlds end, are to obtain Heaven and Salvation, even by treading in the ſteps of their Father Abraham. Two ways we ſee Men generally miſcarry, either by a prophane Neglect of the Goſpel, or an hypocritical Profeſſion of it. Happy would the World be, if delivered from Prophaneneſs on the one hand, and falſe Godlineſs on the other. I have nothing to add but that I am
Your very affectionate and obliged Friend and Servant, Charles Wolſeley.