The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

1. The Difference is plain between the Imputation of any works of our own unto us, and the Imputation of the Righteousness of Faith without works. For the Imputation of works unto us, be they what they will, be it Faith it self as a work of Obedience in us, is the Imputation of that which was ours, before such Imputation. But the Imputation of the Righteousness of Faith, or the Righteousness of God which is by Faith, is the Imputation of that which is made ours by virtue of that Imputation. And these two Imputation differ in their whole kind. The one is a judging of that to be in us, which indeed is so, and is ours, before that judgment be passed concerning it, the other is a Communication of that unto us, which before was not ours. And no man can make sense of the Apostles discourse, that is, he cannot understand any thing of it, if he acknowledge not that the Righteousness he treats of is made ours by Imputation, and was not ours, antecedently thereunto.

1. The Difference is plain between the Imputation of any works of our own unto us, and the Imputation of the Righteousness of Faith without works. For the Imputation of works unto us, be they what they will, be it Faith it self as a work of Obedience in us, is the Imputation of that which was ours, before such Imputation. But the Imputation of the Righteousness of Faith, or the Righteousness of God which is by Faith, is the Imputation of that which is made ours by vertue of that Imputation. And these two Imputation differ in their whole kind. The one is a judging of that to be in us, which indeed is so, and is ours, before that judgment be passed concerning it, the other is a Communication of that unto us, which before was not ours. And no man can make sense of the Apostles discourse, that is, he cannot understand any thing of it, if he acknowledge not that the Righteousness he treats of is made ours by Imputation, and was not ours, antecedently thereunto.

2. The Imputation of works, of what sort soever they be, of Faith it self as a work, and all the Obedience of Faith, is ex justitia, and not ex gratia: of Right and not of Grace. However the bestowing of Faith on us, and the working of Obedience in us, may be of Grace; yet the Imputation of them unto us, as in us, and as ours, is an act of Justice. For this Imputation as was showed, is nothing but a Judgment that such and such things are in us, or are ours, which truly and really are so, with a treating of us according unto them. This is an Act of Justice, as it appears in the Description given