The Scripture Gospel defended, and Christ, grace, and free justification vindicated against the libertines…

The whole scope of his disputing, is, against Justification by the Wor•s which are set in opposition, or competition with Justification by Christ, and by Free Grace, such as the Jews thought the keeping of Moses's Law was; which is the Law that he doth all along speak of. 2. And he expressly describeth the Works that he excludeth, to be those that are supposed to make the Reward to be of Debt (for the value of the Work) and not of Grace: And do they know any Protestant that is either for Justification, or Salvation by any such Works, or for the being of any such? 3. And is not Faith a humane Act? And doth not Paul most plainly and frequently say, we are Justified by it? And did he call Faith, Works? LIV. But to answer this, they err as grossly, saying, that [by Faith imputed for Righteousness] and our being Justified by Faith] is not meant the the Act or Habit of Faith, but the Object, Christ's Righteousness; not sticking hereby to turn all such Texts into worse than▪ Nonsense; Put Christ's Righteousness instead of the Word [Faith] in all those Texts, and try how it will run? And why is Faith named if it have no part in the Sense? They say, That it Justifieth not as a Work: I say, it Justifieth not efficiently at all; much less as a Work in Paul's sense, that maketh the Reward to be not of Grace, but of Debt. Nor doth it Justify as an Act in genere; for then, a quaten•s ad omne, every Act would Justify; nor yet as a mere good Act or Work: For then, every good Act would Justify as it doth. But we are Justified by, 1. This Faith in specie, which is our Fiducial ⟨p. 19⟩Reception of Christ. 2. And that as it is formally made by God, the condition of our participation of the Gift, which is Christ and his Justifying Meritorious Righteousness. Christ is not instead of Faith, and Faith is not instead of Christ: It is Christ believed in, and received; and not Christ without belief and reception. And when they say, That it is the Object and not the Act; they multiply the Proclamations of their undistinguishing ignorance, unskilfully pretending to distinguish: For the Object Christ, is considerable; 1. In esse reali, in himself. 2. Or in esse objectivo, which is, but in esse cognit•, in Idea or Notion: Christ in esse reali, indeed, Justifieth us, by Dying for us, and Meriting for us, and doing that which Faith never did: