Twenty Sermons, Sermons · Sermon 16
ROM. 5.1.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.
IN this Chapter, especially in the beginning thereof, I shewed unto you that the Apostle sets down unto us those special comforts, that a man receives after God hath wrought that supernatural grace of faith in his heart; so that here is set down The Mother-Grace, Justification by faith; and then the blessed issues or daughters thereof; and those are, a free access to God, a joyful hope of the glory to come, and not only a patient, but a joyful suffering of all afflictions that shall befall us in this life.
Concerning justification by faith, I laboured to open it unto you the last day; three things may well be considered therein.
1. What that faith is whereby we are justified.
2. What that justification is, we have by faith.
3. What relation the one of these hath to the other.
Concerning the first of these I told you, that it was not every faith that justifieth, nor every kind of faith that a man can live by. There is a dead faith, and a man cannot live by a dead thing: And there is a living faith, and that is called a faith unfeigned. And though it be in Scripture called the faith, yet it is with some restriction; it is the faith of God's elect; and common to none besides. There is a faith also which is but temporary; that being touch'd with the sense of sin, and seeing there is no deliverance from the curse due to sin, but by Christ; and that there is no part to be had in Christ, but by renouncing all corruptions; the consideration of the desperateness of his case without Christ, makes him long after him; and since he cannot have Christ without leaving sin, he will resolve on that too; he will make towards Christ, and perhaps he comes to taste of the sweetness of Christ, and feels the power of the world to come; he forsakes sin, and thereby comes so near the true believer, that a man must as it were, cut a hair to divide between them. And this is a thing very necessary to be considered of.
And I shewed unto you also that these are not moral things; not a faith that is wrought by the power of men, but by a work of God's Spirit; for it humbles a man for sin, and makes him make toward Christ, and seek him above all things, and having laid some hold on him, he escapes the pollutions of the world, and yet this faith is but temporary; a thing supernatural it is, yet it is without root. Now as I noted unto you, this is not different in the circumstance of time; for time alters not the thing. A child that liveth but half an hour, doth as properly and truly live, as one that liveth a hundred years. But it is called temporary, not that therein stands the difference, but therein it is shewn, and that proves the man to have something wanting. Our being united to Christ, and being nigh unto him, is as a graft or scyons put into a Tree; there are two grafts put into one stock, and each of them have all the several things necessary done unto them, as cutting, binding, &c. yet time discovers that the one thrives, and the other withers; so that there was a fault unseen; though he that put in the gra…s never saw it, yet time discovers it. Now the difference is not in the time, but in the foundation of the thing it s…lf. Now what the difference is between these, I laboured to declare unto you the last day.
The use of it is in brief, this faith, (I mean the s…und faith) is not in all these. All have not faith, the faith, I say, of God's … yet some come so near, and have faith so like it, that it will trouble a wi… man to make the distinction. These are like the foolish Virgins, that lived very civilly, and kept their maiden-heads in regard of the world; none could accuse them for any evil they had done; yet they are at length shut out. Many think themselves in a good way, and a safe condition, yea, and go out of the world in this conceit, and think they are entring into the gate of Heaven, till they in a moment are cast down to hell: Try we therefore, search and sift our selves; if this grace were as grass that grows in every field, it were something; but it is a precious flower, which, if we have not, Christ prefiteth us nothing. This is the means of Christs being applied unto thee; how doth it therefore behove every one of us to look to it, and not to slubber over the matter slightly, but to search and try, and examine our selves. And in the marks I shewed before that it was such a thing as may be likened to a conception which never comes to the birth; such a thing is this temporary faith.
Among others let me add the tokens of love; it is twice set down in the Galatians, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision; &c. but faith which worketh by love; and again, neither circumcision, &c. but the new creature. They that have a temporary faith want nothing but the new creature; what's that? it's faith that worketh by love. They that love God, it's a sure token that God hath loved them first, and God never giveth this love to any but they have faith unfeigned.
The next thing is, he is ever careful to try himself, to prove himself. The temporary cannot endure to be brought to the touch or trial. He accounts every beginning of grace in himself very great; every Mole-hill to be a Mountain. Now God's children know that they may be deceived with counterfeits, and therefore they try themselves.
Mark the speech of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 16.5. Examine your selves, prove your own selves; know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? Let us understand the words; first, we see then it is a thing that is possible to be known, whether we are in the faith, or no; and this is flat against the Papists; for they think a man can have but a conjectural knowledge, that he hath grace and faith. It may be probable, they say, but it cannot be certainly known; but does not the Apostle say, Examine your selves, prove your selves, know you not your selves, &c. No Papist can know it, yet it is possible to be known. Prove and try, you shall not lose your labour. If you take pains in it, you shall attain it in this world. Make your calling and election sure, saith the Apostle, 2 Pet. 2.10. on God's part it is sure enough, for the foundation of God standeth sure, 2 Tim. 2.19. but make it sure unto your selves, in respect of your own knowledge. Know you not your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates: It is a thing may well be made sure of; therefore search, try, examine, &c. Others are content with bare beginnings that never come to any maturity; but those that have true faith, are ever bringing themselves to the trial and touch-stone.
But may some say, I have tryed and examined my self, and I do not find that Christ is in me; what am I a reprobate therefore?
No: God forbid: I say not the man is a reprobate that cannot discern that Christ is in him; See what that is that will explain this, 1 Cor. 11.19. For there must be heresies among you, that th…y which are aproved, might be made known; there must be foreign, men that are approved, such as have endured the dint and shot of the Musquet: such as have put themselves to the trial, and come off well: these are the foreign, and are opposed to those foreign, who are such men, as taking things hand over head, do not search, and try, and examine, and put themselves to the proof; it's a sign these have not true faith, for what, is the having of Christ so slight or poor a thing, as that they will take no pains for him, or care not for knowing whether they have him or no? what, neglect Christ so much, as not to adventure on the trial? these are those foreign. But he which has this saving faith, he is ever putting himself to the trial. Again, God's child, not only useth the means in himself to try himself, but he prayeth for the aid of God also; he knoweth that his own heart is deceitful, and may cozen him, but that God is greater than his heart, and knoweth all things. And therefore he cryeth unto God to try him, as Psal. 139.23. Try me, O God, and know my heart; prove me, and know my thoughts; look; look well whether there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting; there is an everlasting righteousness, and an everlasting way that leads unto it, about which these are not content to try themselves only, but they desire God to try them also; and to make them know the uprightness of their own hearts, and not to suffer them to be deceived thereby. Now that I have done with.
Consider now what that justification is, that is obtained by this true lively faith; I shewed unto you that justification is ordinarily taken for an acquittance from a debt. It is derived from justice or righteousness; therefore I shewed that justification and righteousness are taken for one and the self-same thing; for if there had been a Law given which could, &c. that is, justification had been by the Law. Now as there is a double righteousness, so there is also a double justification. Not that I hold there is any other justification, as it comprehends remission of sins, but only one, but other ways, as many righteousnesses as there are, so many justifications there are. Now there is a double kind of righteousness, the one imputed, and the other inherent; the one is the righteousness of Christ, an act transient from another, which cannot be made mine but by imputation. Besides this, there is another which is inherent, a righteousness in us. S. James speaks of the one, and S. Paul of the other. One is opposed to condemnation, and the other to hypocrisie. The soundness of the heart is respected of God for righteousness, in respect of the graces inherent in us.
Now to give you a touch of the difference between the one and the other, and therein to declare the difference between us and Rome: Know then, that the question between us and Rome, is not Whether justification be by faith or no? but whether there be any such thing as justification or no? The Doctrine of the Church of Rome is, that there is no such Grace as this.
But concerning the first of these, that justification which is by the imputation of Christ's righteousness, I shewed unto you that imputation in this case, is, as when a man comes to hold up his hand at God's Bar, as it were, and it's demanded of him what he hath to say for himself, why he should not die; and then this justification by Christs righteousness is opposed to condemnation. Then justification by faith, is, that when I come to stand before God, though conscience say I am guilty of a thousand sins, yet I may go boldly and plead my pardon, which will acquit me, as if I had never sinned at any time. God was thus in Christ reconciling us (the world) unto himself, not imputing their sins unto them. Now sin is a thing past, which being done, cannot be made undone, the sin remains still: murder is murder still; and adultery is adultery still; it cannot be undone again. Now how shall this man that is guilty of murder and adultery be made just? it cannot not possibly be but by not imputing his sin unto him, so that God should account it to him, as if it had not been done at all by him; he puts it upon Christ's account; Account: The word is used in the Epist. to Philemon, v. 18. where S. Paul saith, If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account. A mans sins being thus put upon Christ's account, he is accepted of God as freely as if he had never owed him any thing, or as if he had never offended him. Now this is done by transferring the debt from one person to another; so that we see this imputation of sin to Christ, and of Christ's righteousness to us is most necessary. It must be so: And if there were no testimony for it in Scripture, yet reason sheweth that there can be no righteousness, but by God's acceptation of us in Christ, as if we had never sinned; there is the difference then. To him that worketh not, but believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is accounted to him for righteousness.
But doth God justifie the ungodly? that's a hard speech; we read in the Proverbs, 17.15. He that justifieth the wicked, and condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
But here we must understand this as we do some other Scriptures; we read in S. Luke 7.22. that the blind see, the lame walk, the dumb speak. It's impossible for a man to be blind and see, to be dumb and speak, all at once; yet take the chief of sinners, suppose Paul, and he was so in his own account; but the act of justification alters him. God justifies the ungodly, that is, him that was even now so; but by the imputation of Christ's righteousness he is made righteous, that is, righteous in God's account. And indeed, justification in S. Paul's acception, importing the remission of sins, the person justified must of necessity be supposed to have been a sinner; otherwise remission of sins would no more concern him, than repentance doth the holy Angels which never offended.
But in proceeding in this point I did reflect a little back. God finds a man with a number of sins, full of sin, and forgives these sins; now I demanded this; how far doth this justification and forgiveness extend? to sins past alone, or to sins past and to come? And I answered that we must consider this matter two ways.
First, to justifie a mans person simply; and then to justifie a man from this, or that particular act: The phrase is used in Scripture, Acts 13.39. And by him all that believe, are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses. There is justification from this or that thing: There is first, Justification of a man's person; he that was an enemy, is now made a friend; he is now no longer a stranger at home, but is in the list of God's houshold. Now this we say, no sooner doth a man receive it, but the self-same hour that he receiveth it, the bond is cancell'd, the evidence is torn, and fastened to the Cross of Christ, and hangs up among the Records, whereas before it was an evidence against us, and would have lain heavy on us at the bar; but now it is fastened to the Cross, as a cancell'd Record, the bond is become void.
Secondly, but now when we consider justification from this or that particular act; I declared that so a man is only justified from sins past; for it is contrary to reason and Scripture, that a man should be justified from sins to come: For Scripture, the Apostle hath it, Rom. 3.25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; and it is clear also from the nature of the thing. A thing cannot be remitted before it be committed, nor covered before it had an existence, nor blotted out before it be written. Therefore justification from such or such a fault, must have relation to that which is past; but for justification for the time to come, I will speak anon; there I left the last time.
I have now faith, and I believe in Christ; I have now relation to him, and remission of sins past. But why then do I pray for it? to what end is that? Bellarmine objects that it is an act of infidelity to pray for it afterwards; but we do it, and we ought to do it; see Psal. 51. David made that Psalm after the Prophet Nathan had told him his sin was pardoned; See the title of it, (and we must know that the title is a part of God's word as well as the rest) A Psalm of David when Nathan came unto him, after he had gone in unto Bathsheba: Nathan told him that God had took away his sin: Yet he cryeth here throughout the whole Psalm, to have his sin pardoned and blotted out; so that though there were faith and assurance, yet he still prays for it. Now Bellarmine saith, this cannot be; but doth he dispute against our opinion? no, he disputes against the Holy Ghost; for David having received a message of forgiveness, yet prays. Therefore if the Jesuit had grace, he would joyn with us to salve the matter, rather than through our sides to strike at God.
But it is a Fallacy to joyn these two together; for a man to pray for a thing past, it is an act of infidelity; as to pray that God would create the world, and incarnate his Son.
I answer, there is difference between an act done, and an act continued; when the World was made by God, God had finished that work. And when Christ took our flesh upon him, the act was done; but the forgiveness of sin is a continued act, which holds to day and to morrow, and world without end. God is pleased not to impute thy sins, but cover them; Now this covering is no constant act, but upon a supposition of constant indulgence, which ought to be solicited by constant prayer. I may cover a thing now, and uncover it again; now forgiveness of sin being an act not complete, but continued, and continued world without end (and therefore we say the Saints in Heaven are justified by imputative righteousness, God's continuance of his act of mercy.) The point then is this; As long as we continue in the world, and by contrary acts of disobedience continue to provoke God to discontinue his former acts of mercy, and our sins being but covered, therefore so long must we pray for forgiveness. When the servant had humbled himself before his Lord, it is said, The Lord of that servant loosed him, and forgave him the debt, Mat. 18.27. But though he forgave him, yet he did another act that caused his Lord to discontinue his pardon, Matth. 18.33. Shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, as I had pity on thee? He had pity on him; yet since he doth another act, which turns his Lord's heart against him, therefore he is now cast into prison, and he must not come out thence till he hath paid the utmost farthing. He had forgave him to day and to morrow, and would have continued his forgiveness, if he had not thus provoked him; we must pray to God to continue his acts of mercy, because we continually provoke him by new acts of rebellion. Add to this, The King grants a pardon to a man; In all Patents of pardon there is a clause that the man must renew his Patent. If forgiveness may be renewed, then those things are to be renewed again, by which the renovation of my remission may be wrought. God would have me renew my acts of faith; and if of faith, why not of repentance, and of prayer? There is a singular place in Ezek. 36.29, 35, 37. that makes it plain, That though God intends to do the thing, yet he appoints this to be the means. Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; (i.e.) though I have done it, and intend to do it, yet will I do it by the means of prayer. Howsoever that God had promised Eliah, that rain should come upon the face of the earth; yet he goes upon the Mount, and saw no shew of a cloud. The Text saith not what he did; but he put his head between his knees. Saint James saith, he prayed, and …he opened Heaven, and brought down rain. It was an humble secret gesture. A man may be more free in private, than in publick. He prayed, and the heavens opened. God had promised it, and would do it, but yet he would be sought to. So we see the mediate cause is prayer; so though the Lord will do this, yet for all this he will be enquired of: It is not with God as with men; men, who have promised, would be loth to be sued to, not to break their promise; they account that a dishonour to them, but it is not so with God; God hath promised, yet thou shalt have no benefit of it, until thou sue to him for it; therefore thou must go to God and say, Lord fulfil thy promise to thy servant, wherein thou hast caused me to trust. God loves to have his bond sued out. Lord, make good this word, perform that good word that thou hast spoken. God would have his bond thus sued out. And as thy faith, repentance, prayer is renewed, so is thy pardon renewed. When God will make a man possess the sins of his youth; when a man is careless this way, it pleaseth God to awaken him. Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquity of my youth, Job 13.26. When a man forgetteth the iniquities of his youth, and reneweth not his repentance, and hath not new acts of faith and petition, then God maketh him to possess the iniquities of his youth; he makes his sins stand up and cry out against him, and by this means his old evidences are obliterated. When a man hath a pardon, and it's almost obliterated, the letters almost worn out, that they cannot be read, he would be glad to have it renewed, to have a new exemplification. Every sin it puts a great blur upon thine old evidences that thou canst not read them, They may be firm in Heaven, and yet perhaps be so blurr'd that thou canst not read them, and therefore if thou wouldst get them clear'd again, thou must go to God by prayer, and renew them again; so that whether our evidences be blur'd, or whether it be that God will make us possess the iniquities of our youth, it is necessary to pray for the forgiveness of those sins, which have been before forgiven.
But now you will say, when I have sinned afterward, how come I then to be justified? Then a man would think repentance only doth it, and without repentance a man cannot be justified.
But you must understand, repentance is not an instrument at all; faith only is the instrument, faith justifyeth me from sin hereafter, as well as before. The case is this, faith brings lif…. The righteous shall live by his faith, as the Prophet Habakkuk speaks. 2.4.
What do then new sins do?
There are two sorts of sins; one of ordinary incursion, which cannot be avoided; these break no friendship betwixt God, and us; these only weaken our faith, and make us worse at ease. But there are other sins which waste a mans conscience; A man that hath committed murder, adultery, and lives in covetousness, which (in the Apostles) is Idolatry; as long as a man is in this case, he cannot exercise the acts of faith; we must know faith justifieth not as an habit, but as an act applying Christ to the comfort of the soul. Now a wasting sin it stops the passage of faith, it cannot act till it be opened by repentance; Physicians give instances for it. Those that have Apoplexies, Epilepsies, and the Falling sickness, are thought to be dead for the time, as it was with Eutichus, yet saith Saint Paul, his spirit was in him, Act. 20.13. Every one thought him dead, yet his spirit is in him; however in regard of the operation of his senses it did appear he was dead. So, if thou art a careless man and lookst not to thy watch, and to thy guard, but art overtaken in some gross, and grievous sin, thou art taken for dead. I say not, a man can lose his life that once hath it; but yet in the apprehension of others, and of himself too, he may appear to be dead. As in Epilepsies, the nerves are hindred by obstructions; so sin obstructs the nerves of the soul, that there cannot be that life and working, till these sins be removed. Now what is repentance? why, it clears the passages, that though faith could … before, yet now it gives him dispositions unto it. As a man in a …, cannot do the acts of a living man, till he be refreshed again; so … its repentance which clears the spirits, and makes the life of faith pass throughout, Now when repentance clears the passages, then faith acts, and now there is a new act of faith, faith justifies me from my new sins; faith at first and at last, is that whereby I am justified from my sins, which I commit afterwards.
But this forgiveness of sins, what doth it free us from?
In sin, we must consider two things; the fault and the punishment. Now consider sin as it is in it self, and as it respects the sinner, as acted by him, as respecting the fault of the sinner, it is foreign, a transgression of the Law; The punishment is death; as it respects the sinner, it is guilt. The sin is not guilt, but the guilt the sinners. For instance, a man that hath told a lye, or sworn an oath, the act is past, but a thing remains, which we call the guilt. At if a man commit murder, or adultery, the act is past, but yet if he sleep, or walk, or wake, the guilt follows him. If he live an hundred years, he is a murderer still, and an adulterer still, the guilt follows him; and nothing can take away the murder, or adultery from the soul, but the blood of Christ applied by faith.
First, God takes away the punishment. There is now (saith the Apostle) no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; Rom. 8.1. what, nothing in him worthy condemnation? God knows, we are worthy of a thousand condemnations. There are two Judges; there is a double guilt; when a man is brought to the bar, first, the Jury judge the fact, and then the Judge that sits on the Bench, he judgeth the punishment; one saith guilty, or not guilty? The other saith guilty, then he judgeth him. Now when we are justified, we are freed, from both these guilts; sin when it is accomplish't, it bringeth forth death: Jam. 1.15. You know the natural work of sin, foreign, it labours with death; now God will stop the acts of it, that it shall not do that, which it is apt to do, which is as good, as if the sin were taken away; when there were wild gourds sliced into the pot, 2 Kings 4.31. it's said the Prophet took that venemous herb away; (i. e.) though the thing were there, yet it is as if it were not there, it shall do no manner of hurt: Bring now and pour out, and there was no evil thing. So in respect of us, though there be an evil thing in punishment, and what, if we had our due, would bring condemnation, yet when we are sprinkled with the blood of Christ, it can do us no evil, no hurt; it's said in the Scripture, that the stars fell from heaven; why the stars are of that bigness that they cannot fall from heaven to the earth; but they are said to fall, when they give not their light, and do not that, for which they were put there; so, though I have committed sin, yet, when God is pleased for Christs sake to pardon it, it is as if it were not there at all.
This is a great matter, but I tell you there is more; we are not only freed from the guilt of the punishment, but, which is higher, we are freed from the guilt of the fact. I am now no more a murderer, no more a lyar; when I have received a pardon from the blood of Christ, he frees me from that charge, the world is changed with me now. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect? Rom. 8.33. If the Devil lay any thing to thee thou mayst deny it. Such a one I was, but I am justified, but I am sanctified. 1 Cor. 6.11. A man hath committed High Treason against the King, and the King gives him a pardon for the Treason; if I call him a Traytor, he can have no remedy against me, for he is one; the pardon takes not away the guilt: But i… his blood be restored unto him, by Act of Parliament, then if I shall call him Traytor, he may have remedy against me, because he is restored fully, and is not lyable to that disgrace. This is our case, though our sins be as red as scarlet, yet the die shall be changed; Isa. 1.18. It shall be so bloody: Thou hast the grace of justification, and this doth not only clear thee from the punishment, but from the fault it self; See in Jer. 50.20. The place is worth Gold: In those dayes, and in that time saith the Lord, …he iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: For I will pardon them whom I reserve: What is the matter? What a sinful man, and no sin? What then there is search made for sin in such a man, shall it not be found? You will say this is meant of the grace of sanctification; no: I will pardon them, that pardoning of sin makes the sin not to be found. What a wonderful comfort is this? When I shall come at the day of judgment, and have the benefit of my justification, the last absolution, such sins shall not be charged on me, my sins and iniquities shall not be remembred. I will remember their sins no more, saith God; it is a wonderful thing, and a strange mistake in many men, especially the Papists; Did they ever write comfortably of the day of judgment? Never; they make that a terrible day. Alas poor souls, they knew not that justification is that, that makes sins, that they shall never be remembred: Mark, it is said, Thou shalt hear of all thy good deeds for thy honour, and thy praise; but for thy sins, there shall search be made, and they shall not be found, when God forgives sins, he doth it fully, it shall never be cast in thy teeth again; but thou shalt hear of all thy good deeds, not of thy bad. Then lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth near; Luk. 21.28. here is the blessed grace of justification, that we being justified by faith, have not only no condemnation, but no guilt; whereas all the sins of the wicked man, shall be set before his face, and he shall stand quaking and trembling by reason thereof; not one good thing that he hath done shall be remembred, but in the iniquity that he hath committed, in that shall he dye; Ezek. 18.24. and so I have said somewhat of that point.
You may remember that I said (a word perhaps that some think much of) that the question betwixt us and Rome, is not Whether we be justified by faith or no? But Whether we be justified at all; I will make it good. There are two graces, righteousness imputed, which implies forgiveness of sins; and righteousness inherent, which is the grace of sanctification begun. They utterly deny that there is any righteousness, but righteousness inherent. They say forgiveness of sins is nothing but sanctification. A new doctrine never heard of in the Church of God, till those last dayes, till the spawn of the Jesuites devised it. Forgiveness of sin is this, that God will never charge me with it again. They say that forgiveness of sin is an abolishing of sin in the subject, where is true remission; as much as to say, There is no justification distinct from sanctification: whereas the Apostle distinguisheth them, when as he saith, The Son of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption: 1 Cor. 1.28. He is made unto us (of God.) By the way let me expound it unto you. Christ hath three offices; A Prophetical, Regal and Sacerdotical office. He exerciseth his Prophetical office to illuminate our understanding. He exerciseth his Kingly office to work on our will and affections; there are two branches of it, the Kingdome of grace, and the Kingdom of glory. How am I made partaker of Christs Prophetical office? He is made unto me wisdome, before I was a fool, but now, by it, I am made wise. First, he enlightens me, and so he is made unto me wisdome; well, he is my Priest; how so? He is made an expiation for my sin; he is said to be foreign in Saint John, A propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the world. There is a difference between foreign and foreign, that is a bar… pardon, but this is such a propitiation, as the party offended is well pleased with, Christ being made a ransome; he is made unto us foreign, by the oblation offered unto his Father. He is righteousness imputed to us. And as a King, he rules me in the Kingdom of grace, and in the Kingdome of glory; in the Kingdom of grace he is made unto me sanctification, and in the Kingdom of glory he is made unto me redemption; it is called by the Apostle, the redemption of our bodies; these two are thus clearly distinguished. The work of Christs Priestly office is to be a propitiation for our sins; sanctification proceeds from the Scepter of his Kingdome: The one is without me, the other within me, The one receives degrees, the other not. As a man that is holy, may be more holy; but imputed righteousness doth not more forgive one man than another. Imputation is without augmentation or diminution. Those things which have divers contraries, cannot be one and the same thing. Justification and Sanctification have divers contraries. The contrary to justification is condemnation; but the contrary to sanctification is wickedness, and false dealing, &c. Aristotle distinguisheth homonymous words, and bids you consider their contraries; thus you see the difference between these two.
I should now come and descend unto the dependence one hath on the other: (i. e.) in what respect doth faith justifie? Is faith an instrument to work justification, or to receive it only?
The answer is clear, it justifieth in regard of the object. If you remember the two places I bid you compare, Rom. 3.25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood; is that all? compare this place with chap. 5.9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him; we are justified by his blood, and by faith in his blood: here are two acts which signifie the same thing. It is no more then to say, I was cured by the Bath, or by going to the Bath, so that saith is the legs of the soul, that bring a man to Christ. And so my faith is an instrument, not to procure my justification, but to receive it; so then seeing faith is an instrument, to receive justification, and not to procure it, then the weakest faith carrieth away as much forgiveness as the strongest. A strong faith rids a great deal of work, because it is an active instrument. The stronger faith worketh the greater work; but in the point of justification, it is an instrument, whereby my justification is wrought, an instrument, whereby Christ is received. And the weakest hand may receive a piece of gold as well as the strongest; we must know that in the point of receiving, we live on Gods alms. All our justification is his free gift, and faith is that Palsie hand, which receives all our comfort. It is not then a strong faith that justifieth, but faith; it is called by Peter, a like precious faith. Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 2 Pet. 1.1. It is foreign, in the meanest Christian that hath a trembling hand to pitch on that, and draw vertue from him; it is a like precious faith in them, as in the most great Apostle Peter, and all the rest.