Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors]

he not be pardoned, though he did not receive the outward pledge and seal of his forgiveness?

[ocr errors]

P. cxlv. last line. We beseech him to grant us 'true repentance, &c.'* This certainly implies, that true repentance, both the will and the power, isthe gift of God; else why do we pray for it, every time we meet in public worship?

P. cxlvii. 1. 6. It is the doctrine of our church, 'that baptism duly administered confers justification.'Baptism, rightly received, seals justification: as Abraham's circumcision "scaled to him the righteousness of "the faith which he had, yet being uncircumcised:" but God alone confers justification;' and faith alone receives it. If our church does indeed teach, 'that bap'tism duly administered confers justification;' we should be glad to know in what part of her liturgy, articles, or homilies, this is found.

6

P. cxlvii. l. 25. Let us attend &c.'t I quote this passage, as conveying our sentiments. But if we

* Absolution.

Let us attend to the words of this article in the Latin, which is much clearer than the English: Tantum propter meritum Domini, ac Servatoris 'nostri, Jesu Christi, per Fidem, non propter opera, et merita nostra, justi coram Deo reputamur: observe, that faith is not opposed to works, but the merit of Christ is opposed to the merit of our works-propter meritum 'Christi-non propter opera, et merita nostra-and it is per Fidem, not prop'ter Fidem. We are here said to be justified on account of the merit of Christ, through our own faith, and not on account of our own works or deservings 'Our works never can have any merit towards procuring pardon of our sins, 'from their own intrinsic worth; they cannot justify, or tend to justify us. Nor has our faith any merit of this kind; we are not said to be justified prop'ter meritum Fidei, or, propter Fidem, but per Fidem. The blood of our Lord ' and Saviour Jesus Christ is the meritorious cause of our justification; but it 'operates through our faith, and through our faith only. If faith be wanting ' in those to whom the gospel is made known, the merits of Christ are of no ' avail to them; and if they have faith, no other previous condition is requi 'red.' 'Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome 'doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the homily of justification."

+ Art. xi,

be justified by faith only; and if no previous condition 'be required:' how can 'baptism confer justication,' on those who have previously believed, and consequently been justified?

P. cxlix. 1. 18. 'God sent, &c.'* 'Because all 'men be sinners and offenders against God, and breakers of his law and commandments, therefore can no 'man by his own acts, works, or deeds, (seem they 'never so good,) be justified, and made righteous be'fore God: but every man is of necessity constrained 'to seek another righteousness of justification, to be re'ceived at God's own hands, that is to say, the forgive'ness of his sins and trespasses, in such things as he 'hath offended. And this justification, or righteousness, 'which we so receive of God's mercy, and Christ's ' merits, embraced by faith, is taken, accepted and al'lowed of our God, for our perfect and full justification. For the more full understanding hereof, it is our parts ' and duties ever to remember the great mercy of God, 'how that, (all the world being wrapped in sin by breaking the law,) God sent his only Son, &c.' 'Infants,

[ocr errors]

• 'God sent his only Son our Saviour Christ into this world, to fulfil the 'law for us, and by shedding his most precious blood, to make a sacrifice and 'satisfaction, or (as it may be called) amends to his Father for our sins, to as. suage his wrath and indignation conceived against us for the same. Inso'much, that infants, being baptized and dying in their infancy, are by this sacrifice washed from their sins, brought to God's favour, and made his 'children, and inheritors of his kingdom of Heaven. And they, which in act or deed do sin after their baptism, when they turn again to God unfeignedly, they are likewise washed by this sacrifice from their sins, in such sort, that 'there remaineth not any spot of sin, that skall be imputed to their damnation. This is that justification of righteousness which St. Paul speaketh of when he saith, No man is justified by the works of the law, but freely by 'faith in Jesus Christ.' Homily of Justification, quoted in the Refutation.

Homily on Salvation, part first.-Both the article, and his Lordship, call this The Homily of Justification:' yet in the Book of Homilies, it is called 'A Sermon on the salvation of all mankind by only Christ our Saviour from * sin and death everlasting:' and there is no omily called, The Homily of Justification.' Ilow, or when, the title was alter does not appear.

being baptized, and dying in their infancy, are by this 'sacrifice,' (not by baptism,) washed from their sins, '&c.' There is no intimation, that sins before baptism are washed away, by any other washing, than sins after baptism: but both by the sacrifice of Christ. The apostle toucheth specially three things, which must go together in our justification. Upon God's part his great mercy and grace; upon Christ's part, justice; that is, the satisfaction of God's justice, or the price of our 'redemption, by the offering of his body, and shedding ' of his blood, with fulfilling the law perfectly and tho'roughly: and upon our part, true and lively faith, in 'the merits of Christ.' 'St. Paul declareth here noth

[ocr errors]

6

[ocr errors]

ing upon the behalf of man, concerning his justifica'tion, but only a true and lively faith, which neverthe'less is the gift of God, and not man's only work with'out God. And yet that faith doth not shut out re'pentance, hope, love, dread and the fear of God, to be 'joined with faith, in every man that is justified; but it 'shutteth them out from the office of justifying. So that they be all present together in him that is justified; yet they justify not altogether. Neither doth faith shut out 'the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards, of duty to God; (for we are most bounden 'to serve God, in doing good deeds, commanded by him in his holy Scripture, all the days of our life;) but it 'excludeth them, so that we may not do them to this 'intent, to be made just by doing them.'-' Christ is now the Righteousness of all, that do truly believe in him. He for them paid their ransom by his death. He for them fulfilled the law in his life.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

So that now,

in him, and by him, every true christian man may be 'called a fulfiller of the law; forasmuch as that which their infirmity lacked, Christ's justice hath supplied.**

* Homily ou salvation, first part.

If good works had, in the judgment of our reformers, been needful in order to a justified man's continuance in a justified state: they would surely have given some hint of this, when speaking of the necessity of good works in a justified person, and the good works done after justification. But no intimation of this is given, either here or elsewhere. The same living faith, which justi

fies, preserves the believer in a justified state; rather God by it preserves him. "Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation:"* but this faith may 'as evidently be known,' by producing good works, as a tree discerned by the fruit.'

[ocr errors]

P. cl. 1. 9. This saying, &c.'†These and other 'sentences, that we be justified by faith only, freely, ' and without works, we do read often times in the best 'and most ancient writers; as besides Hilary, Basil, and 'St. Ambrose, before rehearsed, we read the same in 'Origen, St. Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, Prosper, Oecumeneus, Proclus, Bernardus, Anselm, ' and many other authors. Nevertheless, this sentence is 'not so meant by them, that the said justifying faith is 'alone in man, without true repentance, hope, charity, 'dread and fear of God, at any time or season:' I have not read all, or even the most, of these ancient writers; and so am not competent to judge on the subject: but it is the express declaration of our reformers, (who were deeply versed in these studies, especially Cranmer, to

[ocr errors]

1 Pet. i. 5.

This saying, that we be justified by faith alone, freely and withon works, is spoken for to take away clearly all merit of our work, as being un ' able to deserve our justification at God's hands, and thereby most plainly to 'express the weakness of man and the goodness of God; the great infirmity ' of ourselves, and the might and power of God; the imperfection of our ow 'works, and the most abundant grace of our Saviour Christ; and therefore 'wholly to ascribe the merit and deserving of our justification unto Christ. only, and his most precious blood-shedding' (Homily on salvation ZU part ;

[ocr errors]

whom this homily is generally ascribed,) that they all maintain justification by faith, only, freely, and without works; in exactly the same sense, as far as I can perceive, in which the evangelical clergy at present do. After some things more to the same effect, the quotation follows which is printed below. P. cl. 1. 21. "Although, &c.'* tion, the following passage is found. Justification is 'not the office of man, but of God: for man cannot make himself righteous by his own works, either in "whole, or part.' And some other things to the same effect.

[ocr errors]

P. cli. 1. 3. it follows,

[ocr errors]

After this quota

'The true, &c.'† After this quotation, So that as St. John Baptist, although he 'were never so virtuous and godly a man; yet in this matter, of forgiving sin, he did put the people from

Although this doctrine be never so true (as it is most true indeed,) that we be justified freely, without all merit of our own good works (as St. • Paul doth express it,) and freely, by this lively and perfect faith in Christ only, (as the ancient authors used to speak it,) yet this true doctrine must be also truly understood, and most plainly declared, lest carnal men should take unjust occasion thereby to live carnally, after the appetite of the world, 'the flesh, and the devil.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

†The true understanding of this doctrine, we be justified freely by faith without works, or that we be justified by faith in Christ only, is not, that this our own act to believe in Christ, or this our faith in Christ, which is within us, doth justify us, and deserve our justification unto us (for that were to 'count ourselves to be justified by some act or virtue that is within ourselves;) but the true understanding and meaning thereof is, that although "we hear God's word, and believe it; although we have faith, hope, charity, repentance, dread and fear of God within us, and do never so many works thereunto; yet we must renounce the merit of all our said virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and all other virtues and good deeds, which we either * have done, shall do, or can do, as things that be far too weak, and insuffi⚫cient, and imperfect, to deserve remission of our sins, and our justification; and therefore we must trust only in God's mercy, and that sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour Christ Jesus, the Son of God, once offered for us upon the cross, to obtain thereby God's grace and remission, as well of our original sin in baptism, as of all actual sin committed by us after our baptism, if we truly repent, and turn unfeignedly to him again.

« FöregåendeFortsätt »