Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

An. 1. It's certain that you mistake and wrong us: I never put sinning among the things that are equivalent to doing or meriting: Of this before. 2. I doubt you noted not sufficiently that no Creature can merit commutatively as a Proprietor of God, as a Servant doth his wages; nor can have any thing of God but what (in respect of such merit and the value of the thing) is an absolute free Gift: free as to commutation: And that all Gods Laws of Life, are but a prescription of the wise Order in which he will give his free benefits; As a Father will give Lands to the Son that will behave himself decently and thankfully, and not to the contemptuous Rebel: So that as to commutation no Man or Angel hath other merit, than not to commerit the contrary (perdition): God is never the better for our Doing. If you dream of meriting commutatively from a Proprietor by work for wages, I can soon tell you what we set up instead of such merit: I hope you had no such thoughts, but want of due distinguishing. But as to Doing and Merit in respect to Paternal Justice, that which I set instead of fulfilling the first Law is a• aforesaid, (not sinning and suffering, but) 1. Christ's Satisfaction, and the Merit of his complete Righteousness. 2. The Gift of Pardon and Life by a new conditional Covenant merited and made by him. 3. Actual Pardon of all sin thereby. 4. Actual Adoption. 5. Our fulfilling the Condition of that Covenant, that these may be ours.

An. 1. It's certain that you mistake and wrong us: I never put sinning among the things that are equivalent to doing or meriting: Of this before. 2. I doubt you noted not sufficiently that no Creature can merit commutatively as a Proprietor of God, as a Servant doth his wages; nor can have any thing of God but what (in respect of such merit and the value of the thing) is an absolute free Gift: free as to commutation: And that all Gods Laws of Life, are but a prescription of the wise Order in which he will give his free benefits; As a Father will give Lands to the Son that will behave himself decently and thankfully, and not to the contemptuous Rebel: So that as to commutation no Man or Angel hath other merit, than not to commerit the contrary (perdition): God is never the better for our Doing. If you dream of meriting commutatively from a Proprietor by work for wages, I can soon tell you what we set up instead of such merit: I hope you had no such thoughts, but want of due distinguishing. But as to Doing and Merit in respect to Paternal Justice, that which I set instead of fulfilling the first Law is a• aforesaid, (not sinning and suffering, but) 1. Christ's Satisfaction, and the Merit of his compleat Righteousness. 2. The Gift of Pardon and Life by a new conditional Covenant merited and made by him. 3. Actual Pardon of all sin thereby. 4. Actual Adoption. 5. Our fulfilling the Condition of that Covenant, that these may be ours.