The Eleventh Days CONFERENCE. Of Christs Righteousness imputed: of Faith, Justification, and mans duty; their several parts, to a Christians Comfort. Speakers: Saul, Paul, a Libertine Teacher.

The Eleventh Dayes CONFERENCE. Of Christs Righteousness imputed: of Faith, Justification, and mans duty; their several parts, to a Christians Comfort. Speakers: Saul, Paul, a Libertine Teacher.

CHAP. I.

S. SIR, I am now come to you in a greater straight than I was in before: I have met with a Teacher that tells me you are a deceiver, and have all this while misled me, and have taught me to build upon the sand of my own Righteousness, and set me on doing to my own undoing; and that I have not built on the Righteousness of Christ, and therefore all will end in my overthrow and ruin: I was not able to answer him; And I have prevailed with him to come to you, that I may hear you speak together.

S. SIR, I am now come to you in a greater straight than I was in before: I have met with a Teacher that tells me you are a deceiver, and have all this while misled me, and have taught me to build upon the sand of my own Righteousness, and set me on doing to my own undoing; and that I have not built on the Righteousness of Christ, and therefore all will end in my overthrow and ruine: I was not able to answer him; And I have prevailed with him to come to you, that I may hear you speak together.

P. Did not I tell you before-hand of such temptations? and give you instructions for your preservation against them?

S. I confess you did: But I find my self insufficient to use them without help when it comes to trial.

S. I confess you did: But I find my self insufficient to use them without help when it comes to tryal.

P. The truth is, Infant Christians will still need the help of their Elders, and of Christs Ministers, when they have been never so well forearmed; as you need a Physician in your sickness, after all the preventing directions which he can give you. And you have done well to bring him, and to hear both sides together. Had you trusted to your own understanding, and only disputed it out privately with himself, you might have been ensnared to your danger. I shall willingly confer with him on these two conditions: 1. That you remember that it is You and not Him that I am to satisfy: and therefore when I have satisfied you, I have done: For to follow him as long as he will talk, will waste more time, than we have to spare. 2. That when you are delivered from this snare, you will remember that you must meet with many more such in the world: The Anabaptist will say as much to you for his way, and the Papist much more for his way; And most of them will affright you with the danger of damnation, if you turn not to them: Therefore when ever you are assaulted by any of them, bring them to me, and hear us together, as you now do.

P. The truth is, Infant Christians will still need the help of their Elders, and of Christs Ministers, when they have been never so well forearmed; as you need a Physicion in your sickness, after all the preventing directions which he can give you. And you have done well to bring him, and to hear both sides together. Had you trusted to your own understanding, and only disputed it out privately with himself, you might have been enfnared to your danger. I shall willingly conferr with him on these two conditions: 1. That you remember that it is You and not Him that I am to satisfie: and therefore when I have satified you, I have done: For to follow him as long as he will talk, will waste more time, than we have to spare. 2. That when you are delivered from this snare, you will remember that you must meet with many more such in the world: The Anabaptist will say as much to you for his way, and the Papist much more for his way; And most of them will affright you with the danger of damnation, if you turn not to them: Therefore when ever you are assaulted by any of them, bring them to me, and hear us together, as you now do.

Lib. I am sorry to see how you abuse poor souls, and build them not on Christ, but on themselves! What a deal have you said to this man of Doing and of Working, and how little of Believing? You have set him on tasks of Duty, and he thinketh now to Do this and Live, and to be saved in his own doings; his repenting, his praying, his keeping the Lords day; &c. while the poor man knoweth not Jesus Christ, and submitteth not to the Righteousness of God. You will needs be a Teacher of the Law, and bring back poor souls to bondage, that Christ may profit them nothing; but trusting to their own works and righteousness for life, they may fall from grace, and be found in their nakedness and sin.

P. Sir, these General exclamations do but tell us, that there is something that you differ from us in, but tell us not what. If you are a lover of truth, and will speak to edification, tell us distinctly what are the points of our doctrine which you dislike: and let us debate them one by one.

Lib. Among many others the chief are these, I. That you must not have men come to Christ till they are prepared. II. That you set men on Repenting, and Doing, and Working for salvation, and so teach them to trust in a Righteousness of their own; and do not tell them that All Christs Righteousness is ours being imputed to us, and that Believing is our Conversion, to which you are to call men: If they Believe, they have a perfect Righteousness in Christ. III. That you overthrow the Gospel, in making it a Law. IV. And you make the new Covenant to be made with us, when Christ is the only party in Covenant with God. V. And you make the new Covenant to have Conditions, and so to be the same with the old. VI. You make Justifying faith to be a believing in Christ as a Teacher and Lawgiver, that you may lead in works: and not a mere Believing in him for Righteousness. VII. You make Faith to justify as a condition of our performance, and not merely an Instrument of our Justification, or apprehending Christ. VIII. You make faith in it self to be imputed to us for Righteousness, and not Christ only the object of faith. IX. That God is made Mutable by you, and forgiveth and justifieth them when they believe, whom he did not justify from eternity. X. That a justified man must be afraid lest his sin should unjustifie him again. XI. You make men think that they are able to believe of themselves. XII. You call men to Duties, and to Mortification, before they believe and are regenerate. XIII. Instead of the Witness of the Spirit, you comfort men by the Evidence of their own holiness and righteousness. These with abundance more, are the errors, by which you corrupt and deceive poor souls.

Lib. Among many others the chief are these, I. That you must not have men come to Christ till they are prepared. II. That you set men on Repenting, and Doing, and Working for salvation, and so teach them to trust in a Righteousness of their own; and do not tell them that All Christs Righteousness is ours being imputed to us, and that Believing is our Conversion, to which you are to call men: If they Believe, they have a perfect Righteousness in Christ. III. That you overthrow the Gospel, in making it a Law. IV. And you make the new Covenant to be made with us, when Christ is the only party in Covenant with God. V. And you make the new Covenant to have Conditions, and so to be the same with the old. VI. You make Justifying faith to be a believing in Christ as a Teacher and Lawgiver, that you may lead in works: and not a meer Believing in him for Righteousness. VII. You make Faith to justifie as a condition of our performance, and not meerly an Instrument of our Justification, or apprehending Christ. VIII. You make faith in it self to be imputed to us for Righteousness, and not Christ only the object of faith. IX. That God is made Mutable by you, and forgiveth and justifieth them when they believe, whom he did not justifie from eternity. X. That a justified man must be afraid lest his sin should unjustifie him again. XI. You make men think that they are able to believe of themselves. XII. You call men to Duttes, and to Mortification, before they believe and are regenerate. XIII. Instead of the Witness of the Spirit, you comfort men by the Evidence of their own holiness and righteousness. These with abundance more, are the errors, by which you corrupt and deceive poor souls.

P. Because Christ would have his Servants as Teachable as Children, and not to strive by needless disputes, I pray you be you the Teacher, and I will be the Learner, and tell me what you would have us believe in these particulars which you have named. And first of the first.

Lib. I. Men must be taught to come presently to Christ without staying for Preparations, and not discouraged, delayed or kept off.¹

1. 1The first Charge.

P. By [Coming] I suppose you mean [Believing and Accepting.] I pray you teach me further then: Quest. 1. Must men believe in Christ before they Hear of him?

Lib. No: How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard?