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,…

132. And it is true that formaliter, non-punire & praemiari, ••• punish, and to Reward are not all one: And in some cases a man may •• freed from punishment, who is not rewarded: But it is as true as is a••• said, 1. That Gods Salvation, and all his Benefits, are ever free Gifts •• to the matter and value first, and then the relation of a Reward is b• secondary as to the Order of collation, and the reason comparative, wh• one man hath them rather than another (as a thankful Child hath the Gift which the Contemner goeth without). 2. And that here, Not to have this Gift (forfeited by our sin) is to be punished: And so h••• non-donari, is puniri materially though the relations differ. 3. And that it is the same Righteousness of Christ which meriteth our Impunity quoad damnum & sensum, and which meriteth our Right to the Gift of Life, both sub ratione doni as a Gift, and sub ratione condonationis as a forgiveness of the forfeiture, and of the poena damni: So that here •• no room for the conceit, that Christ's death was only to purchase Pardon, and his Righteousness to merit Life. That which confoundeth men here is, their taking the divers Respects, and Connotations, and Co• ceptions of one and the same thing, to be divers separable things: Th• same Law hath the Preceptive part (to do and not do) and the Retributing part (penal and rewarding). The same Obedience of Adam was •• doing what was commanded, and a deserving what was promised. •••• more was promised to persevering Perfection than to the first act of Obedience. One Sin deserved death; but one act of Obedience desern•• not immutable Glory. And as the same Act is formally Obedience related to the Command, and formally meritorious or praemiandus, •• related to the Promise. And the same Act is sin and punishable, as related to the Precept (or Prohibition) and Threatening; so the same Glory is a free Gift in one respect (as related ut bonum to God as Benefactor) and a Reward in another (as related quoad ordinem conferendi to God Rector.) And the same loss of Glory is poena related to the Threatening and it is the loss of a Reward as related to the Promise. And so the s Merits of Christ's active, and passive, and habitual Righteousness, because our Glory, both by giving us pardon of our forfeiture, and by Covenant-Donation, and as a Reward to Christ, and to us when perform the conditions of his Gift.