e General Confiderations previouíy necefury Chriftianity 5 nor can I apprehend much more Equity in others who retied with feverity on this expreffion of the Imputation of the Righteoufnefs of Chrift as unf riptural, as if thofé who make ufè thereof were criminal in no fmall degree when themfelves immediately in the Declaration of their own judg- ment, make ufe of fuch Terms, Dif±in&ions and Expreffions, as are fo far from being in the Scripture, as that it is odds they had never been in the'i»orld, had they efcaped Áriftotles Mint, or that of the Schools deriving from him. And thus although a fufficient Anfwer hath frequently enough, if any thing can be fo, been returned unto this Obje &ion in Bellarmine, yet hath one of late amongft our `ièlves made the Tranflation of it into Englifh, to be the fub- ftance of the fill Chapter of a Book about 7uflification though he needed not to have given fuch an early intimation unto whom he is beholding for the greateft part of his en- Cuing Difèourfe, unlefs it be what is taken up in defpightful reviling of other men. For take from him what is not his own on the one hand, and impertinent cavils at the words and expreffions of other men, with forged imputations on force of them, on the other, and his whole Book will dif- appear. But yet although he affirms that none of the Prote- fiant Writers who,fpeak of the Imputation of the Righteouf- .ref of Chrifl unto us, ( which were all of them without ex- ception until of late) have precifely Dept to the form of whole- fome Words, but have rather fwerved and varied from the Lan- guage of the Scripture, yet he will excufe them from open Er- row, if they intend no more thereby, but that we are made partakers of the benefits of the Righteoufnefs of Chrift. But if they intend that the Righteoufnef of Chrifl it felf is imputed unto us, ( that is, fo as to be our Righteoufnefs before God whereon we are pardoned and accepted with him, or do re- ceive the forgivenefs of fins, and a right to the Heavenly Inheritance) then are they guilty of that Errour which makes 114
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