A09950:703
The Breastplate of Faith and Love
The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good works, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three several texts, by the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, Master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by W. Jones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630London: printed by W. Iones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
OF LOVE. THE FIRST SERMON.
GALLAT. 5.6. For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but Faith which worketh by Love.
GALLAT. 5.6. For in Iesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but Faith which worketh by Love.
IN the fourth verse of this chapter the Apostle affirms, that there is no justification by the law; for, saith he, If you be justified by the law, you are fallen from grace: that is, you cannot be partakers of that justification which is by grace: Because for to have it by the law, and to have it by grace are ⟨p. 2⟩opposite. And he gives a reason for it, because, saith he, Through the Spirit we wait for the hope of that righteousness which is by faith, and not by the law. When he had expressed himself so far, which is the righteousness received by faith, that is, that righteousness which is freely given by God, offered to us, wrought by Christ, but taken by faith on our parts: Thus saith he, you must be justified. Now to confirm this, he gives a reason in this verse that I have read; for, saith he, In Christ Jesus, (that is, to put a man into Christ Jesus, or to make him acceptable to God through Christ Jesus, to do this) neither circumcision availeth any thing, or uncircumcision: (That is, neither the keeping of any part of the ceremonial law, or the omission of it, nor the keeping of the moral law, or the breaking of it will help to engraft a man into Christ, or to make him acceptable to God through Christ: What will do it then? nothing saith he) but only faith. Now lest we should be mistaken in this, as if he should require nothing at their hands but an empty idle faith, he addeth further, it must be such a faith as is effectual, as is working: And that is not enough, but it must be such a faith as works by love. So that you have two parts in this Text: One is a removal or a negation of that which doth not engraft us into Christ, or that makes us not acceptable to God through Christ; it is not being circumcised or uncircumcised, or any thing of that nature: The other is the affirmative part; What is it that doth it, that makes us in a glorious condition, that