Christs Justification of Marys Choice, Application 2
Ʋse. And here you may see, that it is false Doctrine which some men confidently preach, that There is no such thing as Christs justifying his People against false accusations; As when we tell them, that against the accusation of being finally Impenitent, Ʋnbelievers, Ʋnconverted, Ʋnholy, they must be justified by their own personal Repentance, Faith, Conversion and Holiness, or not at all; they have no shift against the plain Truth, but to tell us, that we have need of no such Justification: The Devil will have something else to do, than falsly to accuse us. But on the contrary,
1. Is not the Devil the Accuser of the Brethren? and is he not the Father of lies. Is not his Name Diabolus, a false accuser?
2. Doth he not set the wicked on his work in this Life, falsly to accuse the faithful, and their Faith and Duty, that it may reflect on God himself? Yea, through the remnant of ignorance and Sin, Christs Servants too oft falsly accuse one another, as unsound, Erroneous, Heretical, &c. Yea darkness causeth good mens Consciences too often falsly to accuse themselves. And is it not Christs Office to be the advocate of the just? and in justifying them to justifie himself, and his Cause and Truth; Rom. 3. 4, 26. And is it not much of the work of that glorious day, to bring all hidden things to light, and to justifie his cause, and Servants against all the false accusations that ever were brought against them? and thus to shame all falshood and unrighteousness, and to judge the World in truth?
3. Was it not a false accusation that Satan brought against Job? and did not God very solemnly justifie him against it? Is not Satans Kingdom upheld in the World, by making men in all Nations believe, that Believers are deceived, false Believers, and that Christs Servants are wicked, Hypocrites, the Plagues and Troublers of the Earth? And is there not a day to justifie them against all this?
4. If we are not justified against false accusation, we are justified against none at all: For Christ will not justifie us against the Truth. It is Justification by Plea and Sentence that we are now speaking of: Justification sometime signifieth making us just, and sometime Judging and maintaining us to be just. The first doth make an unrighteous and ungodly man just, by converting him, and giving him Repentance toward God, and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, and pardoning his Sins, and giving him right to the Heavenly Inheritance: This is our first Constitutive Justification. But when God hath thus made us just by the merits of Christs Righteousness,
1. He virtually by the Law of Grace doth pronounce us just, and this against the curse of the condemning Law of innocency.
2. And in Judgment Christ as our Advocate will maintain us just.
3. And Christ our Judge, will judge us just, against all that can be brought against us: But how far just? Not such as never sinned; nor such as by imputation of his Righteousness are by God accounted never to have sinned; nor such as never deserved death: But such as are not to be condemned to pain of sense or loss, but have right to the free gift of Life Eternal, because Christ for them satisfied Justice, and fulfilled all Righteousness, and merited all this for them, even Forgiveness, Grace and Glory, and they being penitent Believers have part in him, and sincerely obeyed him to the Death.
And if it were never so true, that no actual false accusation would be urged against believers, yet is it true that we shall be justified against even a virtual and possible accusation: And where there is not so much as this, there needeth no Justification by Plea, by Witness, or by Sentence.
And if we are accused to have been Sinners, it is not to be denyed; If it be said that our Sin deserved death, it must be granted: But if it be said,
1. That we were finally impenitent unbelievers.
2. Or have no part in Christ.
3. Or had no pardon of Sin.
4. Or had no right to Life Eternal.
5. And therefore are to be condemned; all this being false, Christ will justifie us against it; and against all other false accusation of Men or Devils.
Doct. Last. Christ doth not only plead his own Righteousness for Mary's Justification, but justifie her choice of the better part, and decree that it shall not be taken from her.
I. Indeed all the good that we have is his own as the giver, though some be also ours as the actors and possessours: And Christ will justifie all that is of himself: Nothing but good cometh from Infinite good, or him that came to destroy the works of the Devil. They that accuse our Grace or Duty, accuse Christ, his Spirit and his Law: And will he not justifie himself? (But of this before.)
II. He that praiseth his Servants Holiness and Duty, and will praise them in Judgment, doth so far justifie them. Mat. 25. Well done, good and faithful Servant! Yea, he that calleth Eternal Glory, their Reward, and the Crown of Righteousness given by God the righteous Judge, to such as have fought a good fight, and finished their course, and love the appearing of Christ; and he that is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey him, and will judge all men according to their works, and pronounceth them Blessed that do his Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, (2 Tim. 4. 8, 9. Heb. 5. 9. Rev. 22. 14, &c.) doth surely so far justifie this personal obedience and righteousness of theirs.
But he justifieth only against false accusations; and not against the charge of culpable imperfection. And do they therefore talk wisely that say, It is no Righteousness, and no Justification, because it is imperfect? Doth any wise man pretend to personal perfect Righteousness? And doth not God many hundred times in Scripture call that Righteousness and equivalent which is imperfect? And will he justifie or save any that hath no such Righteousness? Christ was perfectly righteous for us, to merit the pardon and Salvation of Believers, and the acceptance of their imperfect Righteousness; and not to bring any to Heaven that hath no inherent personal Righteousness.
There are some that seem by their arguing to think that so much honour as we give to our Holiness and Duty, so much we take from Christ, and to praise his Saints is to dishonour him: (And yet these men love and look for praise.) But wise men will not believe that the greatness of the Gift is a dishonour to the Giver, or the excellency of the House or Work a dishonour to the Builder or Work-man, or the recovered Health of the Patient a dishonour to the Physician; else what a dishonour will our Salvation be to Christ, when we are perfectly holy, without Spot or wrinckle, and have no Sin! It will be then by the Communication of his Holiness; as Motion, Light and Heat is from the Sun; and so it is now though we are imperfect: God accepteth, praiseth, and in tantum proportionably justifieth our imperfect Righteousness for the sake and merits of his that was perfect.
I never met with any of this mind, but if one accuse them of less than Infidelity, Impenitence, Impiety and Hypocrisie, they will seek to justifie themselves: And why will they justifie themselves in that which God will not justifie them in? What Friend of Christ will not justifie the Generation of the Just, when Malignants call them all deluded Hypocrites? and I know no sober man but expecteth that every Judge should justifie the wrongfully accused and their Cause.
Obj. To justifie a good Cause is not to …ustifie the Person.
Answ. Untrue. It is not to justifie him in all Respects, but it is to justifie him as to that Cause.
Obj. This is but before men.
Answ. God doth more hate the condemning of the Just than any man doth.
Obj. This is but as to a particular Cause, and not an universal Justification.
Answ. And the justifying of a Believer and penitent obedient Saint by his Faith, and Repentance, and Obedience, is but the justifying him in that particular Cause, which is the medium of his part in Christ; the merit of whose Righteousness and Sacrifice procureth the pardon of all his Sins, and his right to the free Gift of Life eternally, and so far justifyeth him against the guilt of his Sin, and the Condemnation of the Law.
He that is not first made a penitent Believer, and justified against chargable Infidelity, Impenitence and Hypocrisie, shall never be justified by Christ's Merits and Sentence against the Curse and Penalty of the Law.
II. But Christ doth not only justifie Mary and her Choice, but decree that it shall not be taken from her. For,
1. He hath by his Covenant given the best and greatest things, and that for ever to every one that will but thankfully accept and choose them.
2. And what he offereth and promiseth he decreeth.
3. And what he decreeth and promiseth he performeth.
For, who is it that should take it from her, or from any Believer? Or, who shall separate us from the Love of God?
1. Not the Malice of Satan; else no Believer should be saved. If the Devil could deprive us of the Gospel, or of Grace, it should be surely done: If he could have kept the World from being redeemed by Christ, it had never been redeemed; if he could keep men unconvinced, unconverted, and unpardoned, he would surely do it.
2. Not any of his malignant Instruments, for God will not give them power to make a godly man ungodly, and the Devil hath no such power to give them.
3. Not the Envy of erroneous Zealots, or uncharitable Hypocrites. The Prodigal shall not be turned out of Doors, because his elder Brother envieth his Entertainment. The Envy of the Jews shall not hinder the Blessing of the Gentiles. Resolvedly choose the best, and you shall have it.