The sound believer, or, A treatise of evangelical conversion discovering the work of Christs…The sound beleever, or, A treatise of evangelicall conversion discovering the work of Christs…

1. That a Christian must be justified before he believe; for the cause of Faith must go before Faith. This proposition, Thou art justified, reconciled, is according to this assertion the cause of faith; for no proposition can therefore be true, because we are persuaded that it is true; but it must be first true, ⟨p. 228⟩before I am persuaded of it; the wall is not white, because my eye sees it so, but it must first be white, and then I see it so. Now to make actual justification before faith, is cross to the whole current of Scripture. We believe that we might be justified, Gal. 2.16. we are not justified that we might believe. We pass from death to life by faith, John 5.24. we are not in a state of life before faith. When the Lord Jesus saw their faith, Mat. 9.2. he then said, Be of good comfort, thy sins are forgiven thee. The Word saith, He that believeth not, is condemned already, John 3.18. and therefore (unless the Spirits witness be cross to the Word) it doth not say to one that believeth not, that he is absolved already. To be justified by faith, and to be justified by Christs righteousness is all one in the Scriptures phrase and meaning, Gal. 2.16, 17. Add therefore we may as well say that we are justified before and without Christ, as before and without faith. And indeed this doctrine of being justified by faith, and by this means to have remission of sins, the Apostle Peter affirms to be the doctrine of all the Prophets, Acts 10.43. To him give all the Prophets witness, that whosoever believe in him, shall receive remission of sins: not that they had remission of sins before they did believe. I know not any one Protestant Writer that maintains ⟨p. 229⟩our justification before and without faith, except learned Chamier; who not knowing how to avoid the blow of Bellarmines horned argument, that if Faith be an assurance of our actual justification, then we are first justified before we believe; he affirms we are justified before faith: and therefore that when the Scripture saith we are justified by faith, the reason of that (saith he) is not because our faith doth efficere justificationem, i. e. is a cause (meaning instrumental) of our justification; but because efficitur in justificato, i. e. is wrought in a justified person: