BOOK 5. THE MESSAGE.
CHAPTER 4.
5.4.5. Of the Great Controversy, Whether we are not Justified by the passive Righteousness of Christ only, without any consideration had to the Righteousness of Christ, either inherent in him, or performed by him?
Of the Great Controversy, Whether we are not Justified by the passive Righteousness of Christ only, without any consideration had to the Righteousness of Christ, either inherent in him, or performed by him?
For my part, I am for the negative, upon these well known grounds.
Arg. 1. By that alone the law is not fully satisfied, by that alone we are not justified; but by the passive obedience of Christ alone, the law is not fully satisfied: therefore by his passive obedience only we are not justified. Thus far I grant that the law is fully satisfied by his passive obedience, in respect of the penalty therein threatened, but not in respect of the commandment, for the obtaining of the blessedness therein promised; and the righteousness of the law if thus described. that "the man which doth these things shall live by them" Rom. x. 5.
Against this are divers exceptions of the adversaries, as, --
(a). That the law is satisfied either by doing that which is commanded, or by suffering the punishment which is threatened,
Ans. It is true in respect of the penal statues of men, but not in respect of the commandments of God, in which there is not only a penalty threatened, but a blessedness promised; if man bad continued in his integrity, the law might have been satisfied by obedience only; but being fallen into a state of disobedience, two things are necessarily required to the fulfilling of the law, (i.e.) The bearing of the penalty, and the performing of the command, the one to escape hell, and the other to obtain heaven.
(b). They except, That whatsoever are freed from hell, are also admitted to heaven.
Ans. The reason thereof is, because Christ who did bear the punishment to free us from hell, did also fulfill the commands to bring us to heaven; but howsoever these two benefits of Christ do always concur in the party justified, as the causes thereof concurred in Christ, who not only did both obey, and suffer, but in obeying suffered, and in suffering obeyed; yet both the causes between themselves, and the effects between themselves, are carefully to be distinguished; for as it is one thing to obey the commandment, and another thing to suffer the punishment; so it is one thing to be freed from hell by Christ his suffering the penalty, and another thing to be entitled to heaven, by Christ his fulfilling the commandments.
(c). They except, that God is a most free agent, and therefore he may, he will, justify men by the passive righteousness of Christ only without fulfilling of the law.
Ans. What God may do, if he will, I will not dispute, but sure I am, that he justifieth men according to his will revealed in his word, and there we find, that, as we are justified from our sins by the blood of Christ, so also we are made just by the active (though not only by the active) obedience of Christ, Rom. v. 19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." And, Rom. v. 10. "If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life;" by his life which he lived before his death, and by his life, which he lived, and doth live, after his death; by the acts of his life, before his death meritoriously, and by the acts of his life after his death (as his resurrection, ascension, session, intercession,) effectually, 1 Cor. i. 30. "Christ is made unto us of God, (saith the apostle) both redemption and righteousness," redemption, to deliver us from sin; and righteousness, "to bring in everlasting righteousness," Dan. ix. 24.
(d). They except, That if we are justified by Christ his fulfilling the law, then we are justified by a legal righteousness, but by such a righteousness as without the law is revealed in the gospel.
Ans. The same righteousness by which we are justified, is both legal and evangelical, in divers respects; legal, in respect of Christ, who being made under the law, that he might redeem us who were under the law, perfectly fulfilled the law for us; and evangelical, in respect of us, unto whom his fulfilling of the law is imputed. And herein stands both the agreement and difference betwixt the law and the gospel; the agreement, in that both require the perfect fulfilling of the law unto justification: the difference, in that the law requireth perfect obedience, to be performed in our own persons, but the gospel accepts of perfect obedience performed by Christ, our Surety, and imputed to us; and so it is all one as if it had been performed in our own persons.
Arg. 2. If Christ, by his conformity to the law, fulfilled the law for us, then are we justified by his habitual and actual righteousness, and not merely by his passive; but Christ, by his conformity to the law, fulfilled the law for us, for so we read, "He was born for us," Luke ii. 11. "He was made subject to the law for us," Gal. iv. 4, 5. And "for our sakes he sanctified himself," John xvii. 19. And for our sakes he did the will of God, "Then said I, lo I come to do thy will, O my God; by the which will we are sanctified," Heb. x. 7, 10.
Against this are divers exceptions; as, --
(a). That Christ obeyed the law, or conformed to the law (as need was) for himself, "Christ (say they) as he was man, was bound to obey the law for himself."
Ans. This assertion detracts from the merit of his obedience, and from the dignity of his person,
(i). From his merit, for if his obedience were of duty, then it were not meritorious, (Debitum non est meritum.) Luke xvii. 10. And if this be true, then have we no title to heaven.
(ii). From the dignity of his person, as if he needed either to obey for himself, or by his obedience were any way bettered in himself. O that these men would remember that the person who did obey the law was, and is not only man, but God also. Christ fulfilled the law not only as man, but as God-man Mediator; and therefore as his blood was God's blood, so his obedience was the obedience of God, Acts xx. 28. "Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God," Phil. ii. 6, 8. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death," or until death. We find him here God-man, and from hence we conclude, that all the legal actions of Christ from his incarnation to his passion inclusively, were the actions of Christ God-man, Mediator, and surety for us in a way of covenant; and consequently they were not performed of duty nor for himself.
(b). They except, That if Christ obeyed the law for us, that by his obedience we might be justified, then shall not we ourselves need to obey the law; but the consequent is absurd, therefore the antecedent.
Ans. We need not to obey the law to that end, that we may be justified thereby; for this is impossible to us by reason of the flesh, and therefore our Saviour fulfilled it for us; and yet it follows not, but that we may endeavour to obey the law for other ends; as to glorify God, to obey his will, to testify our thankfulness, to edify our brethren, to assure ourselves of our justification, and so to make our calling and election sure? In this study and practice of piety consisteth our new obedience, which we must therefore be careful to perform, though Christ as to justification, hath performed it for us.
(c). They except. That if Christ by his active obedience, fulfilled the law for us, and that so we are justified from all kind of sin both original and actual, then Christ's sufferings was in vain.
Ans. Christ's active obedience is an essential part of our justification, but not all our justification: the material cause of our justification is the whole course of the active and passive obedience of Christ, together with his original righteousness, or habitual conformity unto the law; I say, together with his original righteousness, because many authors express no more, but only Christ's active and passive obedience; but they are to be understood, as asserting his original righteousness implicitly, the act presupposing the habit. And here observe the difference betwixt the law in case of innocency, and the law in case of sin; the law in case of innocency required only doing, but the law in case of sin cannot be satisfied without doing and suffering, Gal. iii. 10. Gen. ii. 17. Original justice and active obedience was sufficient to justify man in his innocency, but not to justify man fallen; and therefore we do not separate these, the original, the actual, and the passive righteousness of Christ, as to the matter of justification, but we imply all.
Arg. 3. We read in scripture of two parts of justification, viz. The absolving of a believing sinner from the guilt of sin and death; and the accepting of a believing sinner as righteous unto life. The former is wrought by the sufferings of Christ imputed as a full satisfaction for sin, the other by imputation of Christ's perfect obedience, as a sufficient merit of eternal life, by the former we are freed from hell; by the latter we are entitled to the kingdom of heaven; of them both the apostle speaks, Rom. v 9. "We are justified by his blood." And verse 19. "We are made righteous by his obedience." Our adversaries deny these two parts of justification, saying. That it consists wholly in remission of sin. But we reply, In every mutation, though it be but relative, we must of necessity acknowledge two terms, Terminum a quo, and terminum ad quem, the denomination being commonly taken for the latter: as in justification there is a motion or mutation from sin to justice, (from which term justification hath its name) from a state of death and damnation, to a state of life and salvation: but if justification be nothing else but bare remission of sins, then is there in it only a not imputing of sin, but no acceptation as righteous; a freedom from hell, but no title to heaven. -- They say indeed, that to whom sin is not imputed, to them righteousness is imputed: and we grant that these things do always concur, but yet they are not to be confounded, for they differ in themselves, and in their causes, and in their effects.
(a). In themselves, for it is one thing to be acquitted from the guilt of sin, and another thing to be made righteous, as we see daily in the pardon of malefactors.
(b). In their causes, for the remission of sin is to be attributed to Christ's satisfactory sufferings, and acceptation as righteous unto life, to Christ's meritorious obedience.
(c). In their effects, for by remission of sin we are freed from hell, and by imputation of Christ's obedience we have right unto heaven, I will not deny but that to Christ's habitual and actual righteousness is sometimes attributed freedom from sin and hell, as in Rom. viii. 2. "The law of the Spirit of life, which is in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death." And on the contrary side to Christ's passive obedience, is sometimes attributed a right unto heaven, as in Heb. ix. 15. "That by means of his death -- they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance;" but such places as these are to be understood by a synecdoche which puts only one part of Christ's obedience for the whole obedience of Christ. But I must recall myself; my design in this work was not for controversies; I leave that to others; see Downham, Burges, Norton, etc. For my part I am sure, I have before me a more edifying work, which is to take a view of this Jesus, not only for intellection, but for devotion, and for the stirring up of our affections.
Thus far I have held forth Jesus in his life, or during the time of his ministry, till the last passover, and now it was, "That Jesus knew his hour was come, and that he should depart out of this world unto the Father," John xiii. 1. But of that hereafter. Our next business is to direct you in the art or mystery, how we are to look unto Jesus in respect of his life.