in the 'Ep les of S. Paul, &c. beamur ac cenferemur, act proprie nofira eft intrinfica forr4a- lifq; juffitia, profecto non minus jufli haberi & cent ri debere- mus quamn ipfe Chrifius : proinde deberemus dici atq; haberi Redemnptores, & falvatores Munch quod efl abfurdifmum. So full an anfwer hath been returned hereunto, and that fo fre- quently, by Proteflant Divines, as that I would not have mentioned it, but that diverfe among our felves are pleated' to borrow it from him, and make ufe of it. For, fay they, if the Rigghteoufnefs of Chrift be imputed unto us fo as thereby to be made ours, then are we as Righteous as Chrili himfeéf, becaufe we are Righteouswith his Righteoufnef Anfw. i. Thefe things are plainly affirmed in the Scripture, that as unto our felves, and in our felves, we are all as an unclean thing, and all our Righteoufnef is as filthy Rágs,Ifa. 64. 6. on the one hand`; And that in the Lord we have Righteoufnef and firength, in the Lord we are ju f ified and do glory, Ifa. 45.24,25. on the other: That if we fay we have no fn, we deceive our felves; and yet that we are the'Righteoufnef of God in Chrifl. Wherefore thefe things are confiftent what ever cavils the wit of men can raife againfi them; And fo they muff be efteemed, unless we will comply with Socinus his rule of .interpretation; namely, that where any thing feems repugnant unto our Reafon, though it be never fo exprefly affirmed in the Scripture, we are not to admit of it, but Ind out lime interpretation though never fo forced, to bring the fenfe of the words unto our Reafon. Wherefore ( 2 ) notwithflanding the Imputation of the Righ- teoufnef of Chrifl unto us, and our being made Righteous therewith, we are finners in our felves, ( the Lord knows- greatly fo, the bead of us) and fo cannot be faid to be as Righteous as Chrif, but only tobe made Righteous. in him who are finners in our felves. ( 3) To fay, that we are as Righte- ous as Cbrifl, is to make a comparifon between the perfonal' Righteoufnefs of Chrift, and our perfonal Righteoufnefs,_ if the comparifon be of things of the fame kind. But this is foolith 509-
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