righteous before God, but only through the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for his own works, or deservings; and, therefore, that a believer is justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort to him, and to him only. That good works are the fruits, not the causes, of Faith, and

raiment, received from him, and therefore made so entirely their own, as to be called the righteousness of saints. See Rom. iv. in which chap.

ter our translators have rendered the same word by counted, reckoned, imputed, in which way only a sinner can appear perfectly righteous (for none can for a moment appear otherwise) before God in his glory. As to the doctrine of imputation itself, it runs through the Law, and the Prophets, and the whole Word of God. Without it, sacrifices would have been useless, which were instituted for vicarious atonement. Without it, also, Christ would have lived and died in vain for his people; as neither his blood could have availed for the remission of sin, nor his righteousness for justification to life eternal. ›

follow

follow after, not precede, Justification; but, either before or after, cannot put away sin, nor endure the strict severity of God's all-searching judgement. That they are however as indispensable to prove both to ourselves and others a true and lively Faith, and do as necessarily spring out of it, as though they were, the absolute grounds of Justification itself before God, or of Salvation. That all works, done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit, and not being the offspring of faith in Christ, are so far from making men meet, or from preparing them, to receive grace, or to deserve the congruity, or concurrence, or subsequent support of grace, that they are, being wrought, not according to the will and word of God, but according to the will of the flesh, only sinful as to their cause and nature, and are at best (as one calls them) splendida peccata, shining and specious

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specious sins.

That no man can fulfil

the Law of God, and much less overfulfil it. That Christ, bearing hu

man nature, was the only one born of that nature without sin; and he was thus born, that he might be a pure sacrifice, a lamb without spot, for the sins of the world; that is, for every one, Jew or Gentile, male or female, bond or free, who should come unto God by him. That there is no perfection in man, or in the flesh, not even in the regenerate; but that such may fall, and be restored again by the grace of God to newness of life. That there is a spiritual people, named the Church, which signifies The called of God, chosen in Christ out of mankind, as vessels made to honor, according to the everlasting purpose and constant decree, secret to man, of the three Persons in the unity of the Godhead, styled in the original Scriptures JEHOVAH ALEHIM; that

these

these secret ones are called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season; that they through grace, and not of themselves, obey the calling, are justified freely, are made sons of God by adoption, are transformed by the renewing of their mind into the image of Christ, do walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God's mercy, attain to everlasting felicity. That the godly consideration of Predestination and Election in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable, comfort to godly persons, who are such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, or those works which proceed from their fleshly mind and their earthly members, and drawing up their thoughts and desires to high and heavenly things; as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation to be enjoyed

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enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God; but that, to all curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, this doctrine is by the devil made an occasion of stumbling, or of most dangerous downfall, either for desperation or for the utmost abandonment of divine truth, which is usually attended by other false principles, or by the wretchlessness of most unclean living."

§77. These are the proper sentiments of the real Christian. They are also the sentiments of the Church of England; and not only of the Church of England, but of the general Reformation from the errors of Rome. They are

the sentiments and doctrines of the primitive Christian Church in its purest ages. They were and are also the sentiments, doctrines, and experience of that "mystical Body of Christ," the Holy Catholic Church

of