Baxters Aphorisms, Part 2 · Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
A comparing of Mr. Baxters Doctrine with the Doctrine of ſome of the more Modest, and other more Trentified and Jeſuitized Papists, in which he is found more Antichriſtian than they.
Papiſts.
1 IT is to be noted that the Scripture attributeth this imputation of Righteouſneſs to no other thing but Faith.
2 Faith hath not of it ſelf any efficacy, as it is our act, to forgive and reconcile: but all its vertue proceeds from its object, namely Chriſt, whoſe vertue and merit God hath diſpoſed to apply to the ſinner unto Juſtification, by Faith on him.
3 If it be enquired how the Law of Faith is diſtinguiſhed by Paul againſt the Law of works, even of morall works, when Faith alſo is comprehended under the genus [or kind] of works; for to beleeve is our work: The ſolution is, that to beleeve in him that juſtifieth the ungodly, leaneth upon the Righteouſnes of another, to wit, of God through Chriſt: but other works do lean upon their own Righteouſneſs; every work is in [or after] it ſelf good, and makes him good that hath it.
4 If Faith as it is a certain Act, and of it ſelf, ſhould procure Righteouſneſs, then were not Righteouſneſs given freely. God hath not uſed works to juſtifie, as he hath uſed Faith, that men ſhould not boaſt, attributing Righteouſneſs to the vertue or merit of works.
5 Faith is not counted to us for Righteouſneſs, as if it ſelf were made our Righteouſneſs; but becauſe it brings a Righteouſneſs on man before God; not as it is an act of man, then Grace ſhould be of works, for to beleeve is a kind of work: but of Gods will, as he hath willed that Righteouſneſs ſhould be given to man by Faith, and the vertue of Chriſt upon whom man beleeveth, ſhould be communicated to the beleever. This is to count [or impute] Faith to Righteouſneſs before God.
6 Whereas we attain a twofold Righteouſneſs by Faith, an inherent Righteouſneſs, &c. by which we become pertakers of Gods nature; and the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt imputed to us, &c. It remains to be enquired, upon which of theſe we ought to lean [or truſt] and to account our ſelves juſtified before God? My judgment is that we are to reſt, to reſt I ſay as upon a ſtable thing that firmly ſuſteineth, namely the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt imputed to us, and not on the holineſs and grace inherent in our ſelves. For this is unperfect, &c. therefore we cannot for it be counted Righteous before God. But the imputed righteouſneſs of Chriſt is a perfect righteouſnes, in which there is nothing that can offend the eyes of God, but all things that can abundantly pleaſe him. Ʋpon this alone therefore are we to reſt as upon a thing ſure and ſtable, and to beleeve that by it alone we are juſtified.
7 This may undoubtedly be affirmed, and it is the opinion of all Divines, that God can juſtifie men and make them pleaſing and amiable to him, without any inherent quality or habits infuſed.
8 To the ſame purpoſe and ſomewhat more fully ſpeaketh Bellarmine. The guilt or obligation to puniſhment (ſaith he) may be taken away without the infuſion of Righteouſnes. For nothing hinders by how much the leſs God can will the not ordeining to puniſhment, and the pardoning of the offence, and the not accounting him for an enemy, to whom he hath not granted the gift of habituall Righteouſneſs.
9 The Scope of James (in the ſecond Chapter of his Epiſtle) is to ſhew that we are juſtified not by a barren but by a fruitfull Faith.
10 The meaning of James is not that Faith without works is dead, &c. For it is evident that we are juſtified by Faith even without works. But his meaning is, that Faith without works, that is which refuſeth to work, or is no… diſpoſed to work, is a dead Faith, vain and juſtifieth not. What therefore James alleageth out of Gen. 15. Abraham beleeved God, to this purpoſe he alleageth it, that he beleeved being in readineſs to work. Therefore he ſaith that in the work of offering his Son, the Scripture was fulfilled, ſpeaking of his Faith prepared to work: It was fulfilled (I ſay) as to the execution of that great work, to which his Faith was prepared.
11 If any where in Scripture thou heareſt reward or wages promiſed, know that it is no otherwiſe due then by Gods promiſe, freely he hath promiſed, freely he gives. If thou wilt abide in his Grace and Favour, make no mention of thy Merits.
12 All Papiſts conſentingly make the Merits of Chriſt the foundation of mans merits, as far as he can merit. Neither Faith nor works, nor doing nor ſufferings (ſay they) have any other vertue to merit then what they receive from the merits of Chriſts death, then as they are dipt in his blood; this makes them acceptable to the Father.
13 When Chriſt ſaith of the woman, Luk. 7. 47. Many ſins are forgiven her, for ſhe loved much; it is to be underſtood not that ſhe loved much, and ſo her much love was the cauſe of her great forgiveneſs, but contrarywiſe that becauſe many ſins were forgiven her, therefore ſhe loved much.
14 To be given freely, and to be a retribution to works, are as much oppoſit, as that which is free and that which is from Juſtice, or as not due, and debt. And this way of inference the Apoſtle uſeth in the beginning of this 4th Chapter [viz. ſpeaking of Juſtification by Grace.]
15 The work of Juſtice is wages or Reward, and this way of Juſtice Grace excludeth, whoſe work is meer gift or Donation.
16 In this verſe the Apoſtle concludeth that Chriſt hath ſaved us from all the evill both of fault and puniſhment. That there is nothing of condemnation remaining to them that are in Chriſt, becauſe all judgment is taken away both to the fault and the puniſhment.
17 It is certain that when originall ſin is remited, that the evils which it brought are not remitted and taken away, as all finde by experience: Notwithſtanding they remain not under the conſideration of puniſhment, becauſe the fault being taken away, there can be no deſert, as to puniſhment, remaining.
18 I will remember their iniquities no more, ſaith the Lord, i. e. I will neither in this world injoin any Penance for them, nor in that which is to come inflict any puniſhment for them. So hath the Holy Ghoſt promiſed that our ſins ſhall be forgiven by the New Covenant of Grace.
19 In regard of the uncertainty of our own righteouſneſs, and the danger of vain glory: it is moſt ſafe to repoſe our whole confidence in the ſole mercy and benignity of God.
Baxter.
THe bare act of beleeving is not the onelyonly condition of the New Cardinall Contarenus in Rom. 4.Covenant, but ſeverall other duties alſo are parts of that Condition. The Common opinion that juſtifying faith, as juſtifying, doth conſiſt in any one ſingle act, is a Wretched Miſtake. [by the one act of faith he means, Faith in oppoſition to works.] Aph. p. 235, 248.
Faith it ſelf is our righteouſneſſe, viz. our Evangelicall, as Chriſt is our Legall Righteouſneſſe. It ſelf Toletus a Ieſuite, upon Rom. 3.is imputed to us for righteouſneſſe, Aph. p. 125, 126. It juſtifieth as it is an act of ours, and as it is a morall duty, App. p. 80. & 102.
Both Faith and workes make up one condition, one righteouſneſs, one perfect righteouſneſs of our own, by Cardinall Cajetan upon Rom. 3.which we merit to be juſtified by God by the legall righteouſneſs which is in Chriſt. [And conſequently Faith doth not lean upon anothers, and works upon their own righteouſneſs, but both make up one compounded righteouſneſs and goodneſs which make us righteous and good alſo, and by this righteouſneſs and goodneſs, deſervers of juſtification & ſalvation.] Aph. Theſ. 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26. and ſcatteringly throughout the whole Book.
Faith as an act of ours, and of it ſelf, with other workes, procureth Righteouſneſs: And God hath uſed Toletus the Ieſuit up on Rom. 1.works to juſtifie as he hath uſed faith, even in the ſame kinde of cauſality. [So we have found Mr. Br. oft affirming as may be ſeen in our former quotations: Let him deny that he holds the conſequents of theſe two Antecedents, if he will.]
It is ſo far from being an error to affirm that Faith it ſelf is our righteouſneſs, that it is a truth neceſſary for every Chriſtian to know, yea it both is our Righteouſneſſe, and is imputed to us for righteouſneſſe. The [very] perſonall performance of faith ſhall be imputed to us, for a ſufficient perſonall payment [of righteouſnes]Idem in Rom. 4. as if we had paid the full [duty and righteouſneſſe which the Law requireth.] This is the ſubſtance of his words, though not his very words, which being continued in terms of a Metaphor, cannot without the citing of the whole ſimilitude be expreſſed to the underſtanding, otherwiſe, Aphor. p. 125, 126, 129.
There is a two-fold righteouſneſſe attainable by Chriſt [at leaſt in words] the one an inherent righteouſneſſe in our ſelves, conſiſting in the ſeed and acts of Faith, Love, Holineſſe, &c. the other in Chriſt, but made over to beleevers, by Gods Donation if not imputation. Both of theſe are abſolutely neceſſary to ſalvation, neither is the one perfect and the other Contarenus Card. in Tractat. de Juſtif.unperfect, as to juſtification, but the inherent perfect in its kinde as well as the imputed, ſo that both in their kinds of cauſality are to be reſted on as things ſure to ſupport us to juſtification before God: and we are as truly juſtified by and for the inherent as the imputed righteouſneſſe, if the righteouſneſſe which is in Chriſt meriteth a poſſibility of the juſtification of a ſinner before God, he muſt by his inherent and actuall righteouſneſſe merit the actuall application of Chriſts righteouſneſſe, and juſtification by it, elſe he cannot be juſtified. [Mr. Br cannot deny every particle of this doctrine to be his own in words at length, & that hath been already manifeſted in thoſe former & theſe latter quotations.]
The inherent righteouſneſſe is abſolutely neceſſary to ſalvation, Aph.Medina in 1. 2. Qu. 110. …. 2, 4. Theſ. 17. [Otherwiſe juſtification from eternity alſo would peep in, and then Actum eſt, &c. And if abſolutely neceſſary, how can God juſtifie without it?]
Manum a tabula, this is enough to wipe out Bellarmine from Mr. Brs Kalender of Saints. A whole ile of Salt is too little to ſeaſonBell. de Juſtif. lib. 1. cap. 16. this paſſage. It overthrowes the great Goddeſſe Condition ſo pretious to Mr. Br. and erects that Image of Iealouſie in its place, juſtification an immanent act in God. For if God may juſtifie where there is no infuſed righteouſneſſe, where then is the condition? Then is the juſtification in God, and not termined on the Conſcience of the juſtified: but Bellarmine hath his time to deny it again, els Actum eſſet de Amicitia.
Except apparent violence be uſed Ca…etan on Iames.with this Chapter, &c. i… cannot be doubted but that a man is juſtified by works and not by Faith onelyonly, Theſ. 75.
James ſaith that Faith is dead being alone, becauſe it is dead to the uſe and purpoſe of juſtifying, For in it ſelf it hath a life according to its quality ſtill, &c. And ſo works make Faith alive, as to the attainment of Cajetan …bidem.its end, juſtification. Works therefore juſtifie (not onelyonly proving our Faith to be ſound, but) themſelves being in the obligation as well as Faith, and in the ſame kind of cauſality and procurement with Faith, Salmero on cap. 2. Iac.though not in equality with it, which I prove thus. When it is ſaid we are juſtified by works, the word [by] implyeth more then an idle concomitancy, &c. as I have before alledged him, p. 229, 230.
Mr. B. makes the promiſe of God an obligation by which God is bound to man, ſo that man may challenge God for debt; pronouncing the performers, worthy, & their performances Fryar Ferur on Mat. 20. 1.merit. Yea ſcarce admits of any one drop of Gods bleſſings to diſcend upon the good or bad which he aſcribes not to ſome kind of mans merits, Aph. p. 137-141.
Mr. B. contrariwiſe aſcribes all the meritorious vertue of mans works to their own righteouſnes, leaving man ſo long naked of the righteouſnes wch is by Chriſt, untill he hath by his own ſtrong indeavours merited it: ſo that according to his doctrine, the application of Chriſts merits to any is the fruit of that mans merits, and not the mans merits the fruit of Chriſts merits: this is cleer, from the former allegations.
M. Br. interprets it the contrary way, Aph. p. 236. as the underſtanding Reader will eaſily perceive. [Let all judge that have but a mite of reaſon, whetherSoarez Biſhop on the place. this man hath any awe of the Scripture which ſo abuſeth it, yet cries out upon others as faulty. To uſe his own words, he may as well make a Creed of his own, whatſoever the word ſaith to the contrary.
There is no ſuch oppoſition, Juſtification is from the ordinateSalmero diſp, 35. ad Rom. juſtice of God, and the fruit of the merit of our righteouſnes: yet a free gift of free grace nevertheleſs. So he declares his judgment in the fore-cited places.
Mr. Br. directly teacheth the contrary doctrine throughoutDominicus a Soto in Rom. 4. his Book, every where ſolving the abſurdity of his doctrine by his conditions.
Nay he hath not ſo ſaved & freed us from the puniſhment and curſe, but that they that are in Chriſt muſt bear it bothSoto, Salmero, & Aquinas … upon Ro 8. 1. in ſoul and body. As his alledged words before declare.
Mr. B. aſſerts the contrary doctrine, and propugneth it with ten Arguments, whichVaſquez in 3. Thō. diſp. 156. cap. 3. de paenalitatibus. have been examined in the firſt part of this Tractate.
Nay the beleevers ſins tho pardoned, yet are but conditionally pardoned; ſo that theyAnſelm. are ſtill in Gods remembrance to inflict the curſe and puniſhment of the Law upon them, as the curſe, in life and death, giving them no full diſcharge till the day of judgment. The place hath been cited before.
So to repoſe our confidenceBellarmine. on ſole mercy and grace, is a ſoul-cozening Faith, Aph. p. 326. He muſt be undoubtedly damned that doth not work and obey to be juſtified and ſaved by, and for his obedience and works, ibid. p. 325. compared with p. 300. & 320.
Let now not only Schollars, to whom Mr Br appealeth to judg of his freedom from Popery, but with them all rationall and conſcientious men give their verdict, whether he be not ſo cleer as Pilate when he had waſhed his hands, was from the blood of Chriſt: and whether the better Divinity come from Rome, or from Kederminſter.