tue of his obedience imputed unto them, that unless they keep his commands, and obey for themselves, they fhall be fo remote from an acceptance, as wholly to be caft out; in all which Chrift is our example.] 6. "Ye are my friends, if you do whatsoever I "command you.' [We have almost here the very words, but altogether the fame matter, which affords us thus much, that without being Chrift's friends there is no being juftified; but unless we keep his commandments, it is impoffible we should be his friends it therefore neceffarily follows, that except we keep his commandments, there is no being juftified: or, in fhort thus; if the way to be a friend is, to keep the commandments; then the way to be juftified is, to keep the commandments, becaufe none can obtain the quality of a friend, and remain unjustified, or be truly juftified whilft an enemy; which he certainly is that keeps not the commandments.] 7. "For not the hearers of the law are juft before "God, but the doers of the law fhall be juftified."" [From whence how unanswerably may I obferve, unless we become doers of that law, which Chrift came not to deftroy, but, as our example, to fulfil, we can never be justified before God; wherefore obedience is fo abfolutely neceffary, that fhort of it there can be no acceptance; nor let any fancy that Chrift hath so fulfilled it for them, as to exclude their obedience from being requifite to their acceptance, but as their pattern: "for unless ye follow me, faith Chrift, ye can"not be my difciples:" and it is not only repugnant to reason, but in this place particularly refuted; for if Chrift had fulfilled it on our behalf, and we not enabled to follow his example, there would not be doers, but one doer only, of the law juftified before God. In fhort, if without obedience to the righteous law none can be juftified, then all our hearing of the law, with but the mere imputation of another's righteoufnefs, whilst we are actually breakers of it, is excluded, • Rom. ii. 13. John, xv. 14. as not justifying before God. " If you fulfil the royal law, ye do well; fo fpeak ye, and fo do ye, as "they that shall be judged thereby."] 8. "If ye live after the flesh, ye fhall die; but if ye through the fpirit, do mortify the deeds of the "body, ye fhall live."" [No man can be dead, and juftified before God, for fo he may be juftified that lives after the flesh; therefore they only can be justified that are alive; from whence this follows, if the living are justified and not the dead, and that none can live to God, but fuch as have mortified the deeds of the body through the spirit, then none can be justified but they who have mortified the deeds of the body through the fpirit; fo that juftification does not go before, but is fubfequential to the mortification of lufts, and fanctification of the foul, through the fpirit's operation.] 9. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, "are the fons of God." [How clearly will it appear to any but a cavilling and tenacious fpirit, that man can be no farther juftified, than as he becomes obedient to the Spirit's leadings; for if none can be a fon of God, but he that is led by the Spirit of God, then none can be justified without being led by the Spirit of God, because none can be juftified but he that is a fon of God: fo that the way to juftification and fonfhip, is through the obedience to the Spirit's leadings, that is, manifefting the holy fruits thereof by an innocent life and converfation.] 10. "But let every man prove his own work, and "then fhall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and "not in another. Be not deceived, for whatsoever a <( man foweth that fhall he reap. f"> [If rejoicing and acceptance with God, or the contrary, are to be reaped from the work that a man foweth, either to the flesh, or to the fpirit, then is the doctrine of acceptance, and ground of rejoicing, from the works of another, Rom. viii. 13. Rom. viii. 14. f Gal. vi. 4, 7. utterly utterly excluded, every man reaping according to what he hath fown, and bearing his own burden.] II. "Was not Abraham our father juftified by "works, when he had offered Ifaac his fon upon the "altar? Ye fee then how that by works a man is jus"tified, and not by faith only." He that will feriously peruse this chapter, fhall doubtlefs find fome, to whom this epiftle was wrote, of the fame fpirit with the fatisfactionifts and imputarians of our time, they fain would have found out a juftification from faith in the imputation of another's righteousness; but James, an apostle of the most high God, who experimentally knew what true faith and juftification meant, gave them to underftand from Abraham's felfdenying example, that unless their faith, in the purity and power of God's grace, had that effectual operation to fubdue every beloved luft, wean from every Delilah, and entirely to refign and facrifice Ifaac himfelf, their faith was a fable, or as a body without a fpirit: and as righteousness therefore in one person cannot juftify another from unrighteoufnefs; fo whoever now pretend to be juftified by faith, whilft not led and guided by the Spirit into all the ways of truth, and works of righteoufnefs, their faith they will find at last a fiction.] 12. "Little children, let no man deceive you, he "that doth righteousness is righteous, as God is right"eous, (but) he that committeth fin is of the de«vil." [From whence it may be very clearly argued, that none can be in a state of justification, from the righteousness performed by another imputed unto them, but as they are actually redeemed from the commiffion of fin: for "if he that committeth fin is of the devil," then cannot any be juftified completely before God, who is fo incompletely redeemed, as yet to be under the captivity of luft, fince then the devil's feed or offfpring may be juftified; but that is impoffible: it therefore follows, that as he who doth righteousness is g 1 Jam. ii. 21, 24. 1 John ii. 7, 8. righteous, righteous, as God is righteous, fo no farther is he like God, or juftifiable; for in whatfoever he derogates from the works of that faith, which is held in a pure confcience, he is no longer righteous or justified, but under condemnation as a tranfgreffor, or disobedient perfon to the righteous commandment; and if any would obtain the true ftate of juftification, let them circumfpectly observe the holy guidings and inftructions of that unction, to which the apoftle recommended the ancient churches, that thereby they may be led out of all ungodlinefs, into truth and holiness; fo fhall they find acceptance with the Lord, who has determined never to juftify the wicked.] Refuted from right reason. 1. Because it is impoffible for God to justify that which is both oppofite and deftructive to the purity of his own nature, as this doctrine neceffarily obliges him to do, in accepting the wicked, as not fuch, from the imputation of another's righteousness. 2. Since man was juftified before God, whilft in his native innocency, and never condemned tili he had erred from that pure ftate; he never can be justified, whilft in the frequent commiffion of that for which the condemnation came; therefore, to be justified, his redemption must be as entire as his fall. 3. Because fin came not by imputation, but actual tranfgreffion; for God did not condemn his creature for what he did not, but what he did; therefore must the righteousness be as personal for acceptance, otherwife these two things will neceffarily follow: first, that he may be actually a finner, and yet not under the curfe. Secondly, that the power of the first Adam to death, was more prevalent than the power of the fecond Adam unto life. 4. It is therefore contrary to found reason, that if actual finning brought death and condemnation, any thing befides actual obedience unto righteoufness, should bring life and justification; for death and life, con condemnation and juftification, being vaftly oppofite, no man can be actually dead and imputatively alive; therefore this doctrine, so much contended for, carries this grofs abfurdity with it, that a man may be actually finful, yet imputatively righteous; actually judged and condemned, yet imputatively juftified and glorified. In fhort, he may be actually damned, and yet imputatively faved; otherwise it must be acknowledged, that obedience to justification ought to be as perfonally extenfive, as was difobedience to condemnation in which real, not imputative sense, those various terms of fanctification, righteousness, refurrection, life, redemption, juftification, &c. are most infallibly to be understood. 5. Nor are those words, impute, imputed, imputeth, imputing, ufed in fcripture by way of oppofition to that which is actual and inherent, as the affertors of an imputative righteousness do by their doctrine plainly intimate; but fo much the contrary, as that they are never mentioned, but to exprefs men really and perfonally to be that which is imputed to them, whether as guilty, as remitted, or as righteous: for inftance: "What man foever of the house of Ifrael, "that killeth an ox, and bringeth it not to the door "of the tabernacle, to offer unto the Lord, blood "fhall be imputed unto that man,' or charged upon him as guilty thereof. "And Shimei faid unto the king, let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, for "thy fervant doth know that I have finned.* 6. But fin is not imputed where there is no law.!" From whence it is apparent that there could be no imputation, or charging of guilt upon any, but fuch as really were guilty. Next, it is ufed about remiffion: Bleffed is the man unto whom the Lord im"puteth not iniquity;"" or, as the foregoing words have it, "whofe tranfgreffion is forgiven." Where the non-imputation doth not argue a non-reality of Rom. v. 13. Pfal. 1 Lev. xvii. 4. k 2 Sam. xix. 18, 19, 20. |