The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

To be made the Righteousness of God in Christ as he was made sin for us, and because he was so, can be no other but to be made Righteous by the imputation of his Righteousness unto us, as we are in him or united unto him. All other expositions of these words are both jejune and forced, leading the mind from the first, plain, obvious sense of them.

Bellarmine excepts unto this interpretation, and it is his first argument against the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ. lib. 2. cap. 7. de justificatione. Quinto refellitur, quoniam si vere nobis imputetur justitia Christi ut per eam justi habeamur ⟨p. 509⟩ac censeremur, ac si proprie nostra esset intrinseca formalisque justitia, profecto non minus justi haberi & censeri deberemus quam ipse Christus: proinde deberemus dici atque haberi Redemptores, & salvatores mundi quod est absurdissimum. So full an answer hath been returned hereunto, and that so frequently, by Protestant Divines, as that I would not have mentioned it, but that diverse among our selves are pleased to borrow it from him, and make use of it. For, say they, if the Righteousness of Christ be imputed unto us so as thereby to be made ours, then are we as Righteous as Christ himself, because we are Righteous with his Righteousness. Answ. 1. These things are plainly affirmed in the Scripture, that as unto our selves, and in our selves, we are all as an unclean thing, and all our Righteousness is as filthy Rags, Isa. 64.6. on the one hand; And that in the Lord we have Righteousness and strength, in the Lord we are justified and do glory, Isa. 45.24, 25. on the other: That if we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves; and yet that we are the Righteousness of God in Christ. Wherefore these things are consistent what ever cavils the wit of men can raise against them; And so they must be esteemed, unless we will comply with Socinus his rule of interpretation; namely, that where any thing seems repugnant unto our Reason, though it be never so expressly affirmed in the Scripture, we are not to admit of it, but find out some interpretation though never so forced, to bring the sense of the words unto our Reason. Wherefore (2) notwithstanding the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ unto us, and our being made Righteous therewith, we are sinners in our selves, (the Lord knows greatly so, the best of us) and so cannot be said to be as Righteous as Christ, but only to be made Righteous in him who are sinners in our selves. (3) To say, that we are as Righteous as Christ, is to make a comparison between the personal Righteousness of Christ, and our personal Righteousness, if the comparison be of things of the same kind. But this is