Brown - BS2685 B86 1695

74 Mr. Goodwin's Arg, againfi Imput. anf vered. C H A P. IL a perfedt obedience imputed to him to the end, that, without any in- fringing of the Law , the fiinner may be- juftified , & the Law eftablifhed. To the Minor I only fay, That albeit no Man be under any command of God, now to obferve the Moral Law perfedtly , that thereby they may be juftified , the Lard having now provided another way , in the Gofpel which all , to whom it is revealed, are bound to take : Yet all , out of Chrift, & who have not yeelded obedience unto the Gofpe!, are ffill un- der the old covenant, being not as yet brought in into the New & fo, while they abide there, have no other way, whereby to expedt juftifica- tion, but the old way, held forth intheold covenant , vii. PerfettGbe- dience, which is now become Itnpeflible : for rill they beleeve in Chrift, they are fill! in Nature, & are not tranflated into the Kingdom of Jefus Chrift, though, as to fuch as hear the Gofpel, there is a command ro beleeve in Jefus Chrift , to the end they may be juftified : But as to Inch, as either hear not the Gofpel, or hearing it would not yeeld obedience thereto , they have no other way, whereby they can expel juftification, but doing of the Law Ron. 2: 13. & that is alto a defperat & Irnpoflible way , when the Law is already now broken. The meaning of thefe words Rom. 2: 13. The doers of the Law shallbejuflified, is not, what he imagineth pag. IS4. vii. That God will accept, jufifie, & fave only fuch , who out of a fincere & found faith to wards Him by His Chrift , addrefs themfelves to ferve & pleafe Him, in a way of obedience to His Lawes : for this fen - fe of the words keeperh no correfpondence with the (cope of the Apoftle there , nor with the Circumfiances of the place. obj. 23. If God requires only faith of men to theirjuf lification, then He imputes this faith unto them there -unto. But God requires only faith to juflification. Ergo &c. Anf, (i. ) The conclufion is not diredtly the thing , that is now in queftion, but another que Lion, of which hereafterinduetime. (2.) The Minor is falle to forne of his own party, who joule works with faith. (3,) The Major is denied; for though God require faith of men to their jufti- fication ; Yet that faith is not imputed unto them viZ. as their Righteouf- nefs. It may be, he meaneth no more' by the word Impute here , but to accept of it, when performed, according as it isprefcribed : and indeed his proof annexed can evince nothing elfe ; becaufe ( faith he ) to impute Imo ju/lification, to accept unto juflifrcation arenothi*g differing at all, infenje& fignification Now if God should require faith of Men, d? only faith to their jufli- fecation, d5' not accept it thereunto, he should make a bargaine , & not fland to it for hereby it is manifeft, that to Impute faith unto juftification, is but to accept it, in order to juftification, in the place, & for the end, which God hath fixed to it , & required it for; that is , to be a Mean & Infiru- ment , in the bufinefs , & to be the way of Intereflìng us in the Righteouf- nefs ofC':'iít, the foie Righteoufnefs for which , & ground upon which,,. we are jullified. This then being the meaning of his Major Propofition, for any thing that yet appeareth, his whole Argumentis but a meet fophiftical evafion. (4) It is true, God requireth of us only faith , as an Inftrument & mean to lay hold upon the Righteoufnefs of Chrift, in order to our juflifi- cation

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