Brown - BS2685 B86 1695

t °t, Faith the Condition of juf#if, continued. C i A . 35. works be admitted , as Conditions of the Continuance of Iuftification, ¿hough they be denied to be the Condition of the Beginning .thereof, all :boafting, shall not be excluded , contrary to Rom. 3: 27. for if a firmer, after that he is Iu ifi:d by the merite of Chrift , at firft. should have it to fay, that for the Continuance of his juftification., he were beholden t o his own r`orks, he should futely have rnaiterof boaftinglin himfelf, in fo far at leant. Papsfls think to c.vite this Argument againft their Second luaifrcatiort by works , by faving that all thefe good works are not of themfelves, but of the Father of Lights. But this shift will not help , for all thefe works are not the Righteoufnefs of Chrift , but are works of Righteoufnefs, which we do , & are excluded in. this matter , asocca{ionint; boafting, or giving ground thereunto ; as the next Argument will more fully cleare. 4. Abraham is Paid to have Righteoufnefs imputed unto him , & Faith im. pitted unto Righter.ufnefs, and fò to be justified by faith , not only when he was fìr(t juftitied , but many yeers after , even when he offered up lffaac his ion. t ,or. 4. & jam. 2: 21, 23. So was he juftified firft & laft, as CO have no ground of glorying, and therefore not by works. R. n. 4: t, 3,4. But it will be Paid , that the Apoftle games faith exprefly , in the place cited, -that our farther Abraham was juftified by works , when he had offered his Son 1 faac on the Altar. I An(. Not to engage in the whole explication & vindication of that Pafla.ge of Scripture here, which is of late CO good pur- pole , & molt fatisfyingly done by the learned Dolor Owen ; I only fay, that Abraham's being juitified by works , wasfuci , asthereby the Scriptu- re was fulfilled ; which faith, Abraham beleeved God -, and it was imputed tiüto him for Righteoufnefs &c. verf. 23. Now if Abraham had been jUltified by works , properly fo taken , the Scripture had not been fulfilled, which laid , he was juftified by Faith, but the contrary had been made good , to sr+it, that works were imputed to him, & he was juftified by them , as by hisRighteoufnefs.;But thç meaning is, that Abraham was juftified byfaith, a true faith, that proved it felf fuch, in time of a trial, by works of obe- dience; & particularly by obedience to rhatcommand, whereby the Lord tried or tempted him Gen. 2t: a, 2. and by Inch a Faith as wrought with his works, & was perfe Ied, or difcovered & manifefted to be real, after the trial of the fire. jam. 2: 22. It is a good diretrtion that the learned Camero giveth here Op. fol. pad. S 3.. That we should hold fait the (cope of the Apo - file taper ,& ro this end, that we should take notice of the Apoflles P: opofr- tion , and of the Conclufion thereof. The Propofition is fet down serf 14. What loth it profite, my brethren , though a man fay he, bath faith ,,?? have not works, can faith, (or that faith) fave him. Whereby we fee , that the Apoftles (cope is to prove, that that Faith, which the man fuppofeth he hath, who bath no works , is not that Faith, by which we are juftified & faved ; & that becaufe it is unprofitable to poor indigent brethren, in neceß"ity verf. i 5. 16. is dead verf, 17.2o, it can not be shown by works verf; 18. it is a Faith that devils have verf. x 9. Ail which & what followeth is cleared from the Conclufion verf, t6. for 4; ibe body without ,the Spirit it dead, fo faith with nrorks àr dead al fo.

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