The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

And this appearing sense of the Word possibly deceived some of the Ancients, as Austin in particular, to declare the Doctrine of free gratuitous sanctification, without respect unto any Works of our own, under the name of Justification. For neither he nor any of them, ever thought of a Justification before God, consisting in the pardon of our sins and the Acceptation of our Persons as Righteous, by virtue of any inherent habit of Grace infused into us, or acted by us. Wherefore the subject matter must be determined by the Scriptural use and signification of these words, before we can speak properly or intelligibly concerning it. For if to Justify men in the Scripture, signify to make them subjectively ⟨p. 171⟩and inherently Righteous, we must acknowledge a mistake in what we Teach concerning the nature and causes of Justification. And if it signify no such thing, all their Disputations about Justification by the infusion of Grace and inherent Righteousness thereon fall to the Ground. Wherefore all Protestants (and the Socinians all of them comply therein) do affirm that the use and signification of these words is Forensic, denoting an Act of Jurisdiction. Only the Socinians, and some others would have it to consist in the pardon of sin only, which indeed the word doth not at all signify. But the sense of the word, is to Assoil, to Acquit, to Declare and pronounce Righteous upon a Trial, which in this case, the pardon of Sin doth necessarily accompany.

And this appearing sense of the Word possibly deceived some of the Antients, as Austin in particular, to declare the Doctrine of free gratuitous sanctification, without respect unto any Works of our own, under the name of Justification. For neither he nor any of them, ever thought of a Justification before God, consisting in the pardon of our sins and the Acceptation of our Persons as Righteous, by vertue of any inherent habit of Grace infused into us, or acted by us. Wherefore the subject matter must be determined by the Scriptural use and signification of these words, before we can speak properly or intelligibly concerning it. For if to Justifie men in the Scripture, signifie to make them subjectively ⟨p. 171⟩and inherently Righteous, we must acknowledge a mistake in what we Teach concerning the nature and causes of Justification. And if it signifie no such thing, all their Disputations about Justification by the infusion of Grace and inherent Righteousness thereon fall to the Ground. Wherefore all Protestants (and the Socinians all of them comply therein) do affirm that the use and signification of these words is Forensick, denoting an Act of Jurisdiction. Only the Socinians, and some others would have it to consist in the pardon of sin only, which indeed the word doth not at all signifie. But the sense of the word, is to Assoil, to Acquit, to Declare and pronounce Righteous upon a Trial, which in this case, the pardon of Sin doth necessarily accompany.