An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

Justification may be considered in a double Notion; there is Constitutive Justification, whereby we are made righteous before God; and Sentential, whereby we are pronounced such at Judgment: I chiefly aim at the first, upon which the second follows as a consequent. Christ's Righteousness is either Active, such as fulfilled the Command of the Law, or Passive, such as bore the Curse of it; I take in both. The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness is, either that Fundamental Imputation, whereby it is so far reckoned or accounted unto men in general, as to make them capable of Justification upon Gospel-terms; or that after particular Imputation, whereby it is so far reckoned or accounted to Believers in particular, as to constitute them righteous before God: The first Imputation severs men from lapsed Angels; the second severs Men from Men, Believers from Unbelievers. The first we have in such Scripture-expressions as tell us, that Christ died for us; for unless his Death were in some sense accounted ⟨p. 289⟩to us, it was no more for us than for Devils: The second we have in such Scripture-expressions as tell us, that we are justified by his blood; for his Blood justifies us not, unless it be actually particularly made ours, and made ours it cannot be without an Imputation: We have both together, Col. 1.20, 21. He hath reconciled all things, and a little after, yet now hath he reconciled you; all things in the first sense, and you, O believing Colossians, in the second; Reconciliation was actually particularly imputed unto them, which was before applicable to all. I intend the second particular Imputation in this discourse. That which I assert is this, That Believers are justified or constituted righteous before God, by the Active and Passive Righteousness of Christ actually particularly applied unto them.

Justification may be considered in a double Notion; there is Constitutive Justification, whereby we are made righteous before God; and Sentential, whereby we are pronounced such at Judgment: I chiefly aim at the first, upon which the second follows as a consequent. Christ's Righteousness is either Active, such as fulfilled the Command of the Law, or Passive, such as bore the Curse of it; I take in both. The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness is, either that Fundamental Imputation, whereby it is so far reckoned or accounted unto men in general, as to make them capable of Justification upon Gospel-terms; or that after particular Imputation, whereby it is so far reckoned or accounted to Believers in particular, as to constitute them righteous before God: The first Imputation severs men from lapsed Angels; the second severs Men from Men, Believers from Unbelievers. The first we have in such Scripture-expressions as tell us, that Christ died for us; for unless his Death were in some sence accounted