(8o) what is the unwarrantable fenfe ?.I know not of any lower fenfe that they can put on thefe words, then what importeth the In- tereft of a condition : As for that of Mat. tz,. they fay little to it. And as to that of ?awl, they interpret it differently among themfelves:Firft,Some of them fay that ?arms fpeaks of Juftificationbefore men, and others fay he fpeaks ofJuftificati- on before God. The former are eafily confuted ( as they re- Efrain the text to that alone ) by the exprefs words of the Text. For, firft, ver. 23. it exprefly fpeaks of Righteoufnefs by di, vine Imputation, and of Gods accepting Abraham into friend- fhip. Secondly,The text fpeaks of that J uftification which con- curreth with Salvation, ver. 14. [ canfaitbfave kin! ? i Thirdly, It fpeaks of the Death of faith without works, as to Profiting ver. 16. I 7. which is different from matife(iarior. Fourthly, It inftanceth in the fecret act of Raba6, and fuch an act of =ft- 'raham, as we read of no men that then.Jultified him for, nay they were liker to condemn him. Fifthly, Men may juflifie an Hypocrite as foon as the truly godly, and can but conjecture at the faith by the works. But the (cope of the text thews that it is no fuch frivolous ¡unification that is here meant. Secondly, They that fay that it is ¡unification before God that is here meant, ( as nodoubt it is) have yet divers interpre- tations of the word Works, Some fay, that by Works is not meant r work! thernfelves ] indeed,bur a working faith. To them I fay, firft, I deny it, and wait for better proof then is yet brought. Secondly, The text nameth [ works]exprefly twelve times in a few verfes which is not ufual in fpeeches fo tropi call as this is fuppofed to be. Thirdly, In_many or molt of the texts, that interpretation would make the words non-fenfe, as theperufall will declare. Fourthly, If the word [works ] did emphatically Signifie the [ working nature] of faith or faith not gssa fider, but (pa operan!, it will be all one as to the matter in qucftion, and yield what I defire. Others faythat by works is indeed meant the works ehemfelves properly but then they fay that the text fpeaks not of the Ju- ftifiçarion of the perfonay them,but of faith by them;for faith, fay they,, alone doth juttifie the perfon, and works or:ly juft e fartíh. Anfwer, But firft, thiscontradideth the exprefs text for verfe
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