Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

First, An act of free grace in God. All men are naturally sinners, and as such, Gods holiness cannot but hate them, Gods justice cannot but punish them; wherefore free-grace stepped in and found out a way, how God, who cannot justify the ungodliness, might yet justify the ungodly, Rom. 4.5. and that in a way of compliance both with his holiness and justice; with his holiness, providing a perfect righteousness; and with his justice, providing a perfect satisfaction for them in a surety: hence the Apostle saith, we are justified freely by his grace, Rom. 3.24. Freely, by his grace; he uses two words, the more plainly and emphatically to decipher out to us the pure fountain of love and grace, out of which pardon and justification issue forth to poor sinners.

First, An act of free grace in God. All men are naturally sinners, and as such, Gods holiness cannot but hate them, Gods justice cannot but punish them; wherefore free-grace stepped in and found out a way, how God, who cannot justifie the ungodliness, might yet justifie the ungodly, Rom. 4.5. and that in a way of compliance both with his holiness and justice; with his holiness, providing a perfect righteousness; and with his justice, providing a perfect satisfaction for them in a surety: hence the Apostle saith, we are justified freely by his grace, Rom. 3.24. Freely, by his grace; he uses two words, the more plainly and emphatically to decipher out to us the pure fountain of love and grace, out of which pardon and justification issue forth to poor sinners.

Secondly, There must be a perfect righteousness fully answering the holy Law. God cannot deny himself, he cannot deny his holiness, so as to justify us without a righteousness, therefore there must be one; he cannot deny his truth, so as to account that a righteousness which is none, therefore it must be perfect, fully answering the Law; all-fair without any spot in it, all-pure without any mixture in it, all-perfect without and defect in it, such a thing as is not to be found in any mere man. The Jews (as it seems by Josephus) thought a mere outward righteousness enough; but alas, what is this without a pure heart? The Popish Doctors look upon inherent graces as our very righteousness in justification: indeed these (because the denomination