Of free justification

How the Papists and Protestants ¹agree and differ in understanding the word Grace.

1. 1What the Papists, & what the Protestants understand by the word Grace.

Now whereas both Papists and Protestants seem to attribute Man's Justification to grace, herein they both agree. But they say this after their manner of speaking, & we after ours. For this is the difference between these and the Protestants, that the Papists by the name of grace understand only gifts, that are conferred upon those that are justified, to wit, habits, which they call infused, and excellent Endowments of lovely Virtues, and other things of that kind, wherewith the Elect are adorned by the free gift of God. But the contrary party being otherways taught by the Scriptures, and confirmed by the sayings of the Fathers, perceiving these very gifts of the Spirit of God, as long as they live in this flesh, are imperfect, through our default; they deny that men can be justified by these, because Divine Justice cannot at all be satisfied by these. And therefore it is, that ¹they attribute Justification only to the grace and mercy of God; which consists not of any remuneration of Virtues, but rather imputation of Righteousness, and forgiveness of sins. For we do not find fault with this in them, that they do rightly affirm, that ⟨p. 218⟩all our good works should be referred to the grace of God; which neither the Jews themselves nor the Turks will deny. But ²we justly disapprove, that they do not define this grace according to Scripture. For whereas grace is so defined by this sort of men, that it is nothing else but a habit infused by God, like his own goodness and love, whereby he that hath it is rendered acceptable to God; and it makes Works acceptable to him and meritorious: It is easily demonstrated both by Scriptures and Reason, how faulty this definition is, because the thing defined is of a larger extent than the definition: For the grace whereby God loved Jacob, and hated Esau, before they did either good