The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

Seventhly, There are some common prejudices that are usually pleaded against the Doctrine of the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ, which because they will not orderly fall under a particular consideration in our progress, may be briefly examined in these general previous considerations.

1. It is usually urged against it, that this Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ is no where mentioned expressly in the Scripture. This is the first Objection of Bellarmine against it. Hactenus, saith he, nullum omnino locum invenire potuerunt ubi legeretur Christi Justitiam nobis imputari ad justitiam; vel nos justos esse per Christi Justitiam nobis imputatam. De Justificat. lib. 2. cap. 7. An Objection doubtless unreasonably and immodestly urged by men of his persuasion▪ For not only do they make profession of their whole Faith, or their belief of all things in matters of Religion, in Terms and Expressions no where used in the Scripture, but believe many things also, as they say, with Faith divine, not at all revealed or contained in the Scripture, but drained by them out of the Traditions of the Church. I do not therefore understand how such persons can modestly manage this as an Objection against any Doctrine, that the Terms wherein some do express it, are not [Greek or Hebrew] found in the Scripture, just in that order of one word after another as by them they are used. For this Rule may be much enlarged, and yet be kept strait enough to exclude the principal concerns of their Church out of the confines of ⟨p. 70⟩Christianity; nor can I apprehend much more Equity in others who reflect with severity on this expression of the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ as unscriptural, as if those who make use thereof were criminal in no small degree: when themselves immediately in the Declaration of their own judgment, make use of such Terms, Distinctions and Expressions, as are so far from being in the Scripture, as that it is odds they had never been in the world, had they escaped Aristotle's Mint, or that of the Schools deriving from him.