The life of faith in three parts, the first is a sermon on Heb.…

Contr. The Scripture no where saith, that Christ or his Righteousness, or his Obedience, or his Satisfaction is imputed to us: And yet we justly defend it, as is before explained, and as Mr. Bradshaw and Grotius de satisfact, have explained it. And on the other side, the Scripture often saith, that Faith is imputed for Righteousness, and shall be so to all that believe in God that raised Christ (Rom. 4.) And this these objectors peremptorily deny. But expounding Scripture amiss, is a much cleanlier pretence for error than a flat denial of its truth. And a true Exposition is better than either.

Contr. The Scripture no where saith, that Christ or his Righteousness, or his Obedience, or his Satisfaction is imputed to us: And yet we justly defend it, as is before explained, and as Mr. Bradshaw and Grotius de satisfact, have explained it. And on the other side, the Scripture often saith, that Faith is imputed for Righteousness, and shall be so to all that believe in God that raised Christ (Rom. 4.) And this these objectors peremptorily deny. But expounding Scripture amiss, is a much cleanlier pretence for errour than a flat denyal of its truth. And a true Exposition is better than either.

The same God who hath given us a Saviour to satisfy legal Justice, and to merit our Justification against the charge that we are condemnable by the Law of Works; hath thought meet to convey our title to this Christ and Justification, by the Instrumentality of a new Covenant, Testament, or pardoning Act; in which (though he absolutely give many antecedent ⟨p. 350⟩mercies, yet) he giveth these and other Rights, by a conditional gift, that as the Reward of Glory should have invited man to keep the Law of Nature and his Innocency; so the Reward should be a moving means to draw men to believe. So that there is a condition to be performed by our selves (through grace) before we can have the Covenant right to Justification. Now when that is performed, Christ then is our only Righteousness (as aforesaid) by which we must answer the charge of breaking the first Law, and being condemnable by it. But we can lay no claim to this Righteousness of Christ, till we first prove that we are our selves inherently righteous, against the charge of being impenitent Unbelievers. This false accusation we must be justified against by our own Faith and Repentance; that we may be justified by Christ, against the true accusation of sinning against the Law, and thereby being condemnable by it. Now as to our Legal Righteousness, or Prolegal rather, by which this last must be avoided, it is [only the merits of Christ, given to us in its fruits, in the New Covenant, even the merits of his obedience and sacrifice.] But our Faith it self is the other Righteousness, which must be found in our persons to entitle us to this first: And this being it, and being all (in the sense aforesaid) that is made the condition of our pardon by the New Covenant; therefore God is said to impute it it self to us for a Righteousness, because that condition makeeth it so; and to impute it to us for our Righteousness, that is, as all that now by this Covenant he requireth to be personally done by us, who had formerly been under a harder condition, even the fulfilling of the Law by innocency, or suffering for sin; because he that doth not fulfil nor satisfy, as is said, yet if he believe, hath a right to the Justification merited by Christ, who did fulfil and satisfy. This is easy to be understood as undoubted truth by the willing; and the rest will be most contentious, where they are most erroneous.