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,…

Lib. I tell you again, the meaning is, that as men show their liking of a thing that pleaseth them, by a proper Reward, so God showeth his liking of our duty by a free gift of some greater good, which therefore after the manner of men he calleth a Reward.

Lib. I tell you again, the meaning is, that as men shew their liking of a thing that pleaseth them, by a proper Reward, so God sheweth his liking of our duty by a free gift of some greater good, which therefore after the manner of men he calleth a Reward.

P. If it be a Metaphor, I ask you but the Meaning and Reason of the name. If it be because it followeth our duty, then every gift that followeth our duty, is a reward, without any further respect to that duty, but the order of time: but that you denied before; Else Christs Incarnation, and the Apostles, and the Gospel, and all that ever followeth our duty, should be a Reward. But if you mean, that it is called a Reward, as it is a sign of Gods approbation of our duty only, then if God should tell men that he Approveth of their duty, it would be a reward, though he immediately annihilate them, or should never do them any good: which I think you will not say. If you say, that all three must concur, viz. that it be 1. A Benefit or Gift, 2. Following duty, 3. Signifying an Approbation of it, you come almost up to all that is asserted by them that you quarrel with: If God should by some benefit to one man signify that he approved the duty of another, or of a thousand more, and should annihilate them all; this were no reward to them. Therefore when you have talked all that you can devise to say, you must say, that there is some Fitness in the duty for that approbation and benefit, and that the Relation of the Gift to that Fitness, is it that denominateth it a Reward: And that though there be no Cause in man of any Acts of God ex parte agentis, yet are there Causes in man of our Reception and of the effects, ex ⟨p. 230⟩parte recipientis; And so that mans Rewardable duties are his Moral aptitude, cause or condition, why he rather than one that doth otherwise receiveth that Gift, which is called the Reward. But we are gone from our question de nomine, and have already dispatched also that de re: Have you any more to say of any Matter besides words (in which you confess we speak as the Scripture doth) in which we differ?