The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

Fourthly, The Apostle Paul doth himself as we have declared, vindicate his own Doctrine from such exceptions and ⟨p. 562⟩abuses as men either made at it, or turned it unto. Nor have we any other Doctrine in his Epistles than what he Preached all the World over, and whereby he laid the foundation of Christian Religion especially among the Gentiles.

These things being premised, I shall briefly evidence that there is not the least Repugnancy or contradiction between what is declared by these two Apostles, as unto our Justification with the causes of it. And this I shall do, 1. By some general considerations of the nature and tendency of both their discourses. (2) By a particular explication of the context in that of St. James. And under the first head I shall manifest. (1) That they have not the same scope, design or end in their discourses; That they do not consider the same question, nor state the same case, nor determine on the same enquiry, and therefore not speaking ad idem unto the same thing do not contradict one another. (2) That as Faith is a word of various signification in the Scripture, and doth as we have proved before, denote that which is of divers kinds, they speak not of the same Faith, or Faith of the same kind, and therefore there can be no contradiction in what the one ascribes unto it, and the other derogates from it, seeing they speak not of the same Faith. (3) That they do not speak of Justification in the same sense, nor with respect unto the same ends. (4) That as unto Works they both intend the same, namely, the Works of Obedience unto the moral Law.

As to the scope and design of the Apostle Paul, the question which he answereth, the case which he proposeth and determines upon, are manifest in all his Writings, especially his Epistles unto the Romans and Galatians. The whole of his purpose is to declare, how a guilty convinced sinner comes through Faith in the blood of Christ to have all his sins pardoned, to be accepted with God, and obtain a right unto the Heavenly inheritance, that is, be acquitted and justified