The Covenant of Life Opened, Part 1 · Chapter 23 – Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIII. Whether faith as lively and true, or faith as continuing to the end, be the condition of the Covenant of Grace?
THese, who in all points▪ as in this, make this new Covenant a Covenant of Works, contend that faith as enduring to the end, must be the condition of the new Covenant. 1. Because the promise of the reward. 2. The reward is given to him that endures to the end. And this faith (say they) is the adequat and compleat-condition of the Covenant of Grace as full and consumate obedience to the end in degrees and parts.
2. But faith as lively and sincere is the condition of the Covenant, the nature and essence of this faith is to continue to the end, but continuance to the end is an accident all condition of this onelyonly essentiall condition of the Covenant, faith quae, which endures to the end, but not quâ aut quatenus, as it endures to the end is that which saves us and justifies us as the condition of the Covenant. 1. Faith as lively units us to Christ and justifies whether it be come to the full perfection or not. Otherwise 1. no man should be ingrafted in Christ as br…nches in the Vine Tree, no man partakers of the Divine nature, no man quickened, but he that dies in finall beleeving: Where…s, Joh. 5.24. he that beleeveth before his finall continu…nce to the end, foreign,Faith as lively, not as induring to the end the condition of the new Covenant. hath passed from death to life and shall never come to condemnation. And in this is the difference of the condition of the Covenant of Works, that Adam had no right to life by one or two the most sincere acts and highest in measure, except he continue, foreign (as the Law saith, Deut. 26.27. Gal. 3.10.) to the end, otherwise at the first act of obedience perfect in degrees and parts, God behoved by Covenant (except the Lord should break the first Covenant himself, before man sin, which is blasphemous) to have given him confirming grace and the reward of life; but the condition of the Covenant of Grace is that, He that beleeves, Joh. 3.36. foreign, is not condemned, yea is freed from all condemnation, Rom. 8.1. and foreign hath life being really un…ted as the member to the head, as the branch to the tree, mystically, as the wife to the husband, legally, as the debter and the surety becomes one person in Law, the summe one and not two. 1 Joh. 5.11. And this is the witnesse that foreign he hath given us life eternall, and this is in the Son▪ 12. He that hath the Son hath life: He that beleeveth hath the Son dwelling in his heart by faith, Eph. 3.17.
2. Faith, before it come to seed and full harvest brings solid peace and comfort and saveth:Faith in the first lively act saves & justifies. So Christ to the blind man, Luke 18.42. thy faith foreign, hath saved thee, not a bare miraculous faith, but that which apprehends remission of sinnes, as he speaks to the woman who did wash his feet with tears, Luke 7.50. and to the paralytick man, Mat. 9.2. seeing their faith, be of good cheer, go in peace, thy sins are forgiven. If they be but forgiven conditionally, so they beleeve to the end, whereas they may fall away. 1. What comfort and good cheer? 2. What peace being justified by faith, Rom. 5.1? 3. What glory in tribulation, Rom. 5. have they more then Judas the son of perdition? What Covenant of life and of peace are we in? What difference between our Religion and the Religion of Cicero, Seneca, and of all Pagans, if Christ furnish not to us solid unshaken help and consolation? And what a trembling hope have they that they be, and are to fear they shall be in the condition of Apostate Angels to morrw? What saith then Christ, Mat. 9.22. Mark 5.34. Mark 10.52. Luk. 8.58. Luk. 5.20, 24. Mark 5.34. Mark 9.24. yea and much more saith the Holy Ghost of our case, even of everlasting consolation, 2 Thessal. 2.16. strong consolation, Hebr. 6.18. all comfort, 2 Cor. 1.4. lively hope, 1 Pet. 1.4. Heb. 6.18, 19. then Heathens can say, Nay otherwise not so much, for they promise not so much. 3. Our lively faith is to believe our perseverance in lively faith as promised to us, Jer. 32.39, 40. Isai. 54.10. Isai. 59.20, 21. Joh. 10.27, 28. Joh. 4.14. 1 Pet. 1.3, 4, 5. Joh. 11.26, 27. As we believe life eternall, and that purchased by the merite of Christs death, the one as well as the other, then faith as finall cannot be the condition; And who can think that God commands faith in God Immanuel in the Covenant of Works? But faith in God Immanuel to the end is not commanded in the Covenant of Works, but only in the Covenant of Grace. 4. Faith justifies and saves as sincere, be it great or small: but if it justifie not and save not, but as it endures to the end, then no man is compleatly justified and saved and united to Christ, untill he die.
Since faith (as all other graces in a child of God) is imperfect and still growing, 2 Pet. 3.18. and we are to pray, Lord increase our faith, none shall be justified and saved, but he that hath the greatest faith, if faith only, which endures to the end, be the condition of the Covenant, and such a faith as groweth and indures to the end: For take one who for twenty years believeth, the first two years he being united to Christ, hath right to Christ, Joh. 15.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Joh. 17.21, 22. Joh. 14.16. Joh. 16.7, 8, 13. Joh. 4.14. Joh. 7.37, 38, 39. he shall not be judged, not condemned, hath passed from death to life, shall never die, Joh. 3.36. 1 Joh. 5.11, 12. Joh. 4.24. Joh. 11.25, 26. then should he die the end of the first year of his believing, by the Scripture, he must be saved, else he must be damned, who yet died in true faith and yet never fell away, which were strange: But by this opinion either the remnant sound believing should be no condition of justification and salvation, because the man is justified and saved without it, and the faith of one or two years gave him right to Christ and saved him? Ergo the remnant faith is not a condition of the Covenant, but a persevering by grace promised and a persevering in that faith, as also by their way who make persevering faith the only condition of the Covenant of Grace 1. Faith and works are confounded: whereas to be saved by faith is to be saved before, and to be justified before we can do good works, and the jus or title to righteousnesse and salvation, coming only from the price and Redemption that is in Jesus Christ, is not more or lesse, and growes not more then the worth of the ransone of the blood called the blood of God, Acts 20.28. does grow, and it is to be justified by grace and by faith, and then works come in as the fruit of our justification and salvation,How boasting is excluded by grace. Eph. 2. Ye are not saved by works, lest any man should boast, in a righteousnesse of his own, coming from no merite of Christ, which buyeth determinating grace, and indeclinably leads and bows the will; Otherwise we may boast, that is, glory in the Lord, who worketh all-our works for us, Psal. 34.2. Isa. 41.16. Isa. 26.12. The salvation and righteousnesse is the gift of God. What then shall be the room of works? He answers, No room at all as causes of justification and salvation, by an excellent antanaclasis,Boidius Comment. Eph. 2. as learned Trochrig: for he answers, We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Then by grace we have the full right to righteousnesse and salvation by the ransome of blood, which is Christs. Papists and Arminians dare not bring in Evangelick works or faith as an Evangelick work here, though they be too hold. 2. Being once made the creation of God in Christ, and having obtained right by the blood of Christ to salvation, we walk by his grace in good works as leading us to the possession of the purchased inheritance. 3. The Authors of this stand for the Apostasie of the Saints, and they cannot eschew it who make this finall faith▪ that takes in in its essence good works as the soul of it or charity (as Papists say) as the form of it, the only condition of the Covenant.
Quest. But is not life eternall given and promised only to faith which continues to the end? Ans. Faith is considered two wayes. In its nature. 2. In its duration and▪ existence. As to the former, saving faith is of that nature that it is apt to endure, it hath a sort of immortality, so the promise in titulo & jure, is made to that faith only which is of that nature that it must endure to the end, and the promise of life and remission is not made to a saving faith under the accident of enduring to the end, or for the years, suppon thirty or fourty years, or eight hundred years, or above, that Adam or the Patriarchs lived in the state of beleeving, for a faith of some hours only shall save the repenting thief as well as a faith of many years. And 2. life eternall in the possession is promised and given only to the faith that continues to the end, not because of the duration because a longer enduring faith hath merit, but that is by accident, in regard of the right to life and because God hath commanded persevering in faith, life is given only in possession to such a faith as endures, but we cannot say that the accidentall endurance and existence of faith for so many years doth save and justifie, as the living so many years makes a Child an heir to a great estate, for his being born the eldest son, makes him his fathers heir.
CHAP. XXIV. What faith is required in the Gospel.
THere is a legall faith, a duty commanded, the object of which is twofold. 1. Truths relating to the mind revealed and to be revealed. So Adam had a habit or habituall power to beleeve the Law and the Gospel upon supposition, it should be revealed. As a whole man beleeves skill in his Physitian to prevent diseases ere they come, and to remove them, when come. Its folly to say Adam stood in need, before he fell, of a supernaturall power to beleeve Evangelick truths, if he beleeved God to be true, he had such a power as to beleeve all was true, that God should reveal. 2. Adam had a faith of dependencie, to rely upon God in all possible evils feared.
2. The promise of life is not made to Law-faith more then to Law-love, or Law-fear, or Law-desire, more then to any other,How faith saves not according to the dignitie of its act. but the promise is made to Evangelick-faith that layes hold on CHRIST as our righteousnesse. But for obeying the Commands Adam was to live, Gal. 3.13. foreign in them, by doing them, Ezek. 20.11. As Lavater, foreign Shindlerus notat in, cum, propter. Calv. com. Ezek. 20.11. Nulla igitur est in eo absurdit…s si homines vi…ant hoc est mereantur ex pacto vitam …ternam: Sed …i quis…legem servat sequetur eum non opus habere Christi gratia.there is no absurditie if it be said men shall live, that is merit by free paction, life eternall: but then (saith Calvine) if a man keep the Law, he needs not the Grace of Christ. Obj. If faith be imputed, as it layes hold on Christs Righteousnesse, it must be the meritorious cause of Justification and by its inherent dignitie, for there is nothing more essentiall to faith, then to lay hold on Christs Righteousnesse. Ans. If faith were imputed as righteousnesse according to the act of laying hold on Christ, it were true, but the act of faith is not imputed, but that which faith layes hold on, it being an instrument to wit, the Righteousnesse of Christ, it is not an act of beleeving saith a Jesuit. And though they say the works Evangelick are from the habit of grace, so was Adam a patient, when God concreated his Image, and habituall righteousnesse in him. But Arminians and Jesuits do not say, nor darre not, that predeterminating Grace is from Christs merites,Toletus, Rom. 3. Adverte fidem non habere ex se officaciam ullam ut actus quidam, noster est, remitten di & reconciliandi▪ sed virtutem totam procedere ex objecto ipso, nempe, Christo cujus virtutem & meritum disposuit Deus per fidem in ipsum applicare peccatori ad justificandum. The Adversaries exclude not Law-boasting. therefore yet the sinner may more boast then Adam, and say I have justified my self by the acts of free-will which is indifferent and from under all the bowing and determining or swaying of the Grace of Christ, for the free-will should have so whether Christ had died or not died.