The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

As to the first I say, The work of Conviction in general, whereby the Soul of man hath a practical understanding of the nature of sin, its Guilt and the Punishment due unto it, and is made sensible of his own interest therein, both with respect unto sin original and actual, with his own utter disability to deliver himself out of the state and condition, wherein on the account of these things he findeth himself to be, is that which we affirm to be antecedaneously necessary unto Justifying Faith; that is in the Adult, and of whose Justification the Word is the external means and instrument.

A Convinced sinner is only Subjectum capax Justificationis; not that every one that is convinced is or must necessarily be justified. There is not any such disposition or preparation of the subject by this Conviction, its effects and consequents, as that the form of Justification, as the Papists speak, or justifying Grace must necessarily ensue or be introduced thereon. Nor is there any such preparation in it, as that by virtue of any divine Compact or Promise, a Person so convinced, shall be pardoned and justified. But as a man may believe with any kind of Faith that is not justifying, such as that before mentioned, without this Conviction; so it is ordinarily previous, and necessary so to be, unto that Faith which is unto the Justification of Life. The motive is not unto it, that thereon a man shall be assuredly justified; but that without it he cannot be so.

This I say is required in the Person to be justified in order of nature antecedaneously unto that Faith whereby we are justified, which we shall prove with the ensuing Arguments. For (1) without the due consideration and supposition of it. the true nature of Faith can never be understood. For as we have showed before, Justification is Gods way of the Deliverance of the convinced sinner, or one whose mouth is ⟨p. 99⟩