Socinianism in the Fundamental Point of Justification Discovered, Chapter 1 · Christian response 2 – Socinian position 3
Christianisme.
IN this second part he doth promise foure severall propositions, which hee conceives to bee out of question, and undenyable. By the first proposition hee makes a faire shew in words, but his heart is farre removed, and his meaning is wicked, and so will appeare, if we observe how hee in another place afterwards explaines himselfe. First though hee seemes to acknowledge Christ to bee GOD, yet he takes away the use of his being, GOD as well as man in the worke of our redemption. For if GOD by his supreme sovereigne power can dispense with the law of his iustice, and instead of Christs full satisfaction made for us to the law, and imputed to us, and made ours, can and doth accept our weake Faith for the perfect righteousnesse of the Law; what use is there of Christs being GOD in our nature? For all Orthodox Divines doe give this reason, why it was necessary that Christ should be GOD in our nature. viz. That his suffering and righteousnesse performed in our nature, might be of value to iustifie all the sonnes of men, who have communion of them, and to whom they are imputed. This communion and imputation while he denyeth, hee takes away the use of Christs being GOD in our nature.
Secondly, in affirming that Christ obeyed the whole Law in every letter, jot, and title, he doth mock, and delude his hearers, and readers; for he doth not hold, that he fulfilled the Law onelyonly for us, but primarily for himselfe; his words imply so much, for he saith, he obeyed the Law, as far as concerned himselfe, while he continued in the flesh: and he dorh hereafter roundly affirme, that Christ was bound to fulfill the Law for himselfe, which is in effect, a denying of his eternall God-head: for if he be GOD, infinite in glory, and excellency, his God-head must needes exempt the Manhood personally united to it from all bondage of the Law, and make it worthy of glory at GODS right hand, from the first assumption of it. He continued in the flesh, and obeyed the Law, onelyonly for us without all doubt, as the Prophet foretold, Esa. 9.6. saying, To us a Child is borne, and to us a Son is given.
Thirdly, as he denies the satisfaction of Christ to be imputed to us, so he denies the imputation of our sinnes to Christ; and that very closely, and cunningly, under colour of that challenge which Christ made to the Iewes, which of you can convince me of sinne? For our Saviour speakes of sinne committed by himselfe, and such aspersion none can say upon him; But all our iniquities GOD laid upon him, and he bare all our sinnes, Esa. 53. And was made sinne for us, 2 Cor. 5, 21. and to cast this aspersion of all our sinnes on him, is a sure foundation of the peace, and safety of the Church.
In the second proposition, hee doth most notoriously aequivocate, and play the Hypocrite; First in that he seemes to acknowledg the sacrifice of Christ to be an attonement, and satisfaction for the world, and a propitiatory sacrifice for the sinne of it. Secondly, in that he denyeth his Lord, and Master Socinus, and calles the Spirit which wrought in him a Spirit of error; whereas indeed he himselfe is lead by the same Spirit, and doth deny Christ to be the propitiatory sacrifice for our sinnes, as far as Socinus ever did: For in a propitiatory sacrifice, offered to purge sinne, and to make attonement, there were three necessary requisits: First, the thing offered, must be of his owne proper goods, for whom it was offered, so the Law required, and therefore David durst not offer for his sinne, that which was not his owne, Purchased with his money, 2. Sam. 24, 24. Secondly, the owner, whose expiatory sacrifice it was, did lay his hand upon the head of the Beast which was to be offered, and thereby in a type imposed all his sinne, and guilt upon it, so that it became foreign his sin, & foreign his guilt, Levit 5, 6. and Exod. 30.10. and did beare upon it all his sins, Lev. 16.22. Thirdly, this sacrifice offered up by the Priest in that manner which GOD praescribed in the Law, GOD accepted as a propitiation for him, it was set on his skore, and covered his sinne, as the Hebrew words signifie, Levit. 1.4. He who denies any one of these, overthrowes the sacrifice of attonement. Now this dissembler doth with Socinus deny all these things in Christs offering of himselfe a sacrifice of attonement to purge sinne. First he denies the true reall Spirituall union betweene Christ, and the persons pardoned, and justified; by which Christ, and they are made one body, and hee is their head, and they his members; For if he, and the faithfull be one, then all his goods are theirs, and their debts are his, and his satisfaction, and righteousnesse is theirs, and is set on their skore, which he denyeth, and altogether opposeth, and so denyes their interest, and propriety in Christ, and their union with him, as his Master Wotton did, in expresse word: In his Essayes of Justification. Secondly, he also denieth that the sinnes of the faithfull, were layd on Christ, and imputed to him; and in this he chargeth GOD, with notorious injustice, who laid the punishments of all our sinnes on Christ, without the sinnes: For he saith, that Christ bare the punishmēts, though hee had no share in our sinnes by any imputation. Thirdly, he denyeth that the sacrifice of Christs suffering, and obedience offered up by him, is imputed to us, set on our skore, and accepted for us. And thus in the doctrine of Christs sanitisfaction, and attonement, he declares himselfe a true disciple of Socinus, lead by the same spirit of error, and of the same opinion, though in words he denyes it. And what he here seemes to grant, is no more but what all Socinians yeeld unto.
In the third proposition, viz. that Christ is the sole, and entire miraculous cause, of every mans justification, &c. Hee doth aequivocate, and delude the simple, and while hee deceives them, hee is deceived himselfe, as the Apostle saith of wicked seducers, 2 Tim. 3, 13. For if he doth understand his owne words, that Christ is the sole meritorious cause of every mans justification, that is justified by GOD, he must needs grant that Christs satisfaction, made to GODS justice, and his perfect righteousnesse, as it is meritorious, and of great value in it selfe; so it is appropriated, communicated, & imputed to him; that is, it is made actually meritorious for him, and makes him worthy to be counted righteous, and to be iustified; for his words signify so much, though hee is in his purpose and meaning, as contrary, as darknesse is to light: for he meanes no more, but that Christ meritted for himselfe, that GOD should gratifie, and honour him with the justification of those that believe in him, so hee explaines himselfe in the last words. It is certaine that a thing may be merritorious in it selfe, for the worth of it, but it cannot be meritorious to any particular person, till it be appropriated to him▪ and set on his skore. Wotton his Master, (this point being proved to his face with undeniable arguments) was driven to disclaime the word (merit) denyed Christs meritting, for the faithfull, and rejected it as a thing not named in Scripture, in his Essayes of Justification. Besides this deceiving of himself…, and misconceiving of his owne words, I find here much absurdity: First, in that he is wavering, and not setled in his Iudgment, for in many places he holds faith to be the righteousnesse of a man justified; and here he calles absolvtion from sinne, and condemnation, the righteousnesse which is given to every man in his justification: I grant that in a man iustified, there is no righteousnesse inhaerent, but his cleanenesse from guilt of all sinnes, both of commission, and omission, and in this sense, Calvin, Luther, and others say that all the righteousnesse, in a man iustified, is the remission of his sinnes, that is, his cleanenesse from the guilt of them, but this is not the righteousnesse which iustifieth him, and which is communicated to him, to make him cleane, and to worke this cleannesse from the guilt of his sin, that is, the righteousnesse inhaerent in Christ, which makes him cleane, and puts him in a stare of righteousnesse before GOD: but this profound Doctor, with that stamp, and superscription of rationall authority, which hee conceiveth to be set on him, hath not yet searched into the deep things o… GOD.
Secondly, he is most absurd in imagining that Christ hath purchased favour, and honour, wit… GOD, that he might iustifie the… that believe in him by Procuring, that faith in a proper sense should be accepted for righteousnesse: For Christ as he was GOD, & man, was infinitely of himselfe in favour and honour with GOD, and humbled himselfe onelyonly for us▪ and in our behalfe fulfilled the Law; not to purchace honour, and favour, to himselfe, nor to make himselfe worthy to be gratified, and honored by GOD, as hee affirmeth. Thus wee see his absurdities, and his deceiving of himselfe.
The fourth proposition is, that faith in the judgement of every man, is the condition required by GOD, on mans part, to bring him into that communion of justification, and redemption, which Christ hath purchased &c. In which I finde delusion, and falshood: First hee doth not meane a gift, grace, or Spirituall qualification, appointed by GOD, by which as by the hand of the soule stretched out, wee must lay hold on Christs satisfaction, and righteousnesse▪ for justification, and redemption, (though his words pretend so much) but hee meanes that faith is the condition of the new covenant, which man must on his part performe, in stead of all righteousnesse, which the Law requires; and so it is in the new covenant, the condition of life; as workes of the Law, and of righteousnesse, were the condition of the old covenant: This is the very haeresie, and damned error of Socinus. Secondly, he doth here make the covenant of grace, a covenant of life, not freely, but upon a condition▪ performed on mans part, and so a covenant of workes, contrary to Scripture, Rom. 11.6. Thirdly, hee erres grossly, in imagining faith not to be a free gift of grace, but a worke performed on mans part, as workes were required in the old covenant. Fourthly, hee falsely chargeth all honest, and godly men, to be of his judgment. I know that all Orthodox Divines, abhorre and detest this opinion. Fiftly, hee affirmes a manifest untruth, in saying, that without beleeving, none can have part in justification, and redemption; for no regenerate Infants, which die in their Infancy, do actually believe▪ and yet being by the Spirit of regeneration engraffed into Christ, they have communion of his ransome and righteousnesse, are justified before GOD, and saved.
Socinianisme.
3. Part.IT's evident from the Scriptures, that GOD in the act of every mans justification doth impute, or account righteousnes to him, or rather somewhat for, or in stead of righteousnes, by meanes of which imputed, the person justified passeth in account as a righteous man (though hee be not properly, or perfectly such) and is invested accordingly with those great priviledges of a man perfectly righteous, deliverance from death and condemnation, and acceptation into favour with GOD. The reason of which imputation, or why GOD is pleased to use an expression of righteousnesse imputed, in or about the justification of a sinner, seemes to be this, the better to satisfie the naturall scruple of the weake, and feeble conscience of men, who can hardly conceive, or thinke of a justification or of being justified, especially by GOD, without a perfect legall righteousnesse. Now the purpose and counsell of GOD in the Gospell, being to justifie men without any such righteousnesse: the better to salve the feares of the conscience touching such a defect, and to prevent and stay all troublesome thoughts, or quaeres which might arise in the mindes of men, who when they heare of being justified, are still ready to aske within themselves, but where is the righteousnesse▪ conceiving a legall righteousnes to be as necessary to justification, as Isaac conceived of a Lamb for a burnt offering, Gen. 22. He (GOD I meane) is graciously pleased so far to condescend to men in Scripture treatie, with them about the weighty businesse of justification, as in effect to grant and say to them, that though hee findes no proper or perfect righteousnes in them, no such righteousnesse as passeth under the name of righteousnes with them: yet if they truely beleeve in him as Abraham did; this beleeving shall be as good as a perfect compleat righteousnes unto them, or that hee will impute rihteousnes to them upon their beleeving.