The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

Having given this first evidence unto the conclusion which in Thesi he designed to prove, he reassumes the question and states it in Hypothesi, so as to give it a more full demonstration, v. 15. Yea a man may say thou hast Faith, and I have Works, show me thy Faith without thy Works, (that is, which is without Works, or by thy Works) and I will show thee my Faith by my Works. It is plain beyond denial, that the Apostle doth here again propose his main question only on a supposition that there is a dead useless Faith which he had proved before. For now all the enquiry remaining is how true Faith, or that which is of the right Gospel kind, may be showed, evidenced or demonstrated, so, as that their folly may appear, who trust unto any other Faith whatever [Greek or Hebrew], Evidence or demonstrate thy Faith to be true by the only means thereof, which is works. And therefore although he say, thou hast Faith, that is, thou professest and boastest that thou hast that Faith whereby thou mayest be saved, and I have Works, he doth not say, show me thy Faith by thy Works, and I will show thee my Works by my Faith, which the Antithesis would require, but I will show thee my Faith by my Works, because the whole question was concerning the evidencing of Faith and not of Works.

Having given this first evidence unto the conclusion which in Thesi he designed to prove, he reassumes the question and states it in Hypothesi, so as to give it a more full demonstration, v. 15. Yea a man may say thou hast Faith, and I have Works, shew me thy Faith without thy Works, (that is, which is without Works, or by thy Works) and I will shew thee my Faith by my Works. It is plain beyond denial, that the Apostle doth here again propose his main question only on a supposition that there is a dead useless Faith which he had proved before. For now all the enquiry remaining is how true Faith, or that which is of the right Gospel kind, may be shewed, evidenced or demonstrated, so, as that their folly may appear, who trust unto any other Faith whatever 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, Evidence or demonstate thy Faith to be true by the only means thereof, which is works. And therefore although he say, thou hast Faith, that is, thou professest and boastest that thou hast that Faith whereby thou mayest be saved, and I have Works, he doth not say, shew me thy Faith by thy Works, and I will shew thee my Works by my Faith, which the Antithesis would require, but I will shew thee my Faith by my Works, because the whole question was concerning the evidencing of Faith and not of Works.