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elect faith

as conditions

nant of grace,

nian sense.

those benefits of God in the name of Christ, without conversion to the Father and the Son? 3dly, But to speak plainly. If we admit of Christ's satisfaction, and of the ratification of God requires the covenant of Grace and New Testament, then God not of the can, by no right, require faith and conversion from the and re elect, as conditions of the covenant of grace, in the pentane sense of Arminius and the remonstrants: namely, 1st, of the coveTo be performed by us, without grace working them in in the Armius supernaturally, effectually, and invincibly; 2dly, As, by some gracious appointment of God, coming in the place of that perfect obedience to the law which the covenant of works required. For in this manner Arminius explains these things, that instead of perfect obedience, which the covenant of works required, the act of faith succeeds in the covenant of grace, to be, in God's gracious, account, imputed to us for righteousness; that is, to be our claim of right to ask eternal life. But the nature of the covenant of grace admits of no such conditions, however framed, on which to build a right to life eternal, either from the justice or the gracious estimation of God. And thus far Arminius concludes well, if the Mediator has so satisfied for us, as if we ourselves had by him paid our debts, no condition can by any right be required of us, which in any respect can be reckoned instead of payment. The whole glory of our right to eternal life must be purely ascribed to the alone merit of our Lord, and on no pretence be transferred to any one of our acts.

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Christ is

performed

XVI. There is still one argument, which Arminius The righte imagines to be very cogent. "The righteousness," he ousness of says, wrought out by Christ is not ours as wrought ours, as it is out, but as imputed to us by faith." I answer: 1st, for us. What does Arminius infer from this? Does he conclude, that, besides the satisfaction of Christ, faith is also necessary to salvation? And what then? Therefore Christ did not obtain for us the actual remission of sins? We deny the consequence. For faith is not considered as impetrating, but as applying the impetrated remission. And as the presupposed object of saving faith is remission, already impetrated for all the elect by Christ, it must certainly be the proper effect of the death of Christ. 2dly, This righteousness of Christ was really his, as it was wrought out by him; and it is ours, as it was wrought out for us: therefore, in a sound sense, even ours before faith, being the meritorious cause of that grace which is effectual to produce faith in us. It is ours, I say, in respect of right, because, both in the decree of God the Father, and the purpose of the Son, it was wrought out for us, and in the appointed time to be certainly applied to us; though it was not yet ours by possession, as to our actual translation from a state of wrath to a state of grace, and our acknow

ledgment and sense of so great a benefit vouchsafed unto us. The distinction between active and passive justification is well known. The former is that sentence of God, by which he declares his having received satisfaction from Christ, and pronounces, that all the elect are made free from guilt and obligation to punishment, even before their faith, so far as never to exact of them any payment. The latter is the acknowledgment and sense of that most sweet sentence, intimated to the conscience by the Holy Spirit, and fiducially apprehended by each of the elect. The one precedes faith, at least as to that general article which we just proposed; the other follows it. Thus we have defended the value and efficacy of Christ's satisfaction against the cavils of Arminius.

The contro

CHAPTER VIII.

Of the Necessity of Christ's Satisfaction.

I. HAVING explained, from Scripture, the value and versy stated. efficacy of the satisfaction of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God, and for the consolation of the elect, it will not be unseasonable to treat of the necessity of this satisfaction; seeing what we have shown, §. 21, from the apology of the remonstrants, naturally leads to this. And here we choose not to state the controversy in the manner we observe the otherwise great Chamierus has done in his "Pancratia," namely, "whether God could not, by an act of his absolute power, grant remission of sin, without any satisfaction." We are not willing to enter into any dispute about the absolute power of God, since the consideration of that seems not to suit this recent controversy. For this debate is not to be explained and finally determined from the attribute of the power of God, but from those of his holiness, justice, and the like. Some, when they consider the power of God alone, affirm every thing about it; not reflecting that

Others distinguish the justification of the elect, into that which is decretive, virtual, and actual. The first is God's eternal purpose to justify sinners in time, by the righteousness of Christ; but God's eternal purpose to justify the elect is one thing, and the execution of it another. There was also a virtual justification, upon Christ's having made satisfaction: and justification is actual, when the elect sinner is enabled to believe in the Son of God, and by faith is united to him. See book iii. chap. viii. §. 57, &c.

God can do nothing but what is consistent with his justice, holiness, veracity, wisdom, immutability,-in a word, with all his other perfections. The lawyer, Papinian, ff. lib. 28, Tit. 7, Leg. 15, has said well concerning a good man, that we are to believe that he "neither does, nor can do, any thing prejudicial to piety, reputation, modesty, and in general, that is contrary to good manners. This, certainly, ought much more to be affirmed of the Great God, that whatever is not a display of, or whatever throws a slur on, any perfection, or on the glory of God, cannot be the work of God. Origen has judiciously pleaded this cause against Celsus, lib. 3, p. 174: "According to us, God, indeed, can do all things consistently with his Deity, wisdom, and goodness. But Celsus, not understanding how God may be said to do all things, affirms, he cannot will any thing unjust; granting he can do what is so, but not will it. But we say, that as what is capable of imparting its natural sweetness to other things cannot embitter any thing, because that would be contrary to its nature; nor as what naturally enlightens, can as such darken; so neither can God act unjustly. For the power of acting unjustly is contrary to his very Deity, and to every power that can be ascribed to God." And therefore, we think it very unbecoming, on every question about the most sacred right of God, to appeal to his absolute power. We would rather state the controversy thus: Whether God's requiring Christ to give him satisfaction, before he restore sinners to his favour, was owing to the mere good pleasure of the divine will; or whether the essential holiness, the justice, and the like perfections of God, which he cannot possibly part with, required a satisfaction to be made? We judge the last of these to be more true and safe.

II. In the preceding book, cap. v. §. 19, seq. we proved at large, that the very nature and immutable right of God could not let sin go unpunished; which we may now lay down as a foundation. At present, we will subjoin other arguments more nearly relating to the satisfaction of Christ itself.

Not credible, that God

should arbi

trarily, and necessity, ex

without any

beloved Son

III. And first, we may certainly form no contemptible argument, a posteriori, from the event. For as God does not needlessly multiply beings, what probable reason can be assigned, why, without any necessity, he should make his beloved Son, in whom he was well pose his most pleased, a curse for us? Let us insist a little on this to such anthought. The infinite wisdom of God contrived the guish., admirable union of the human nature with one of the divine persons; so that God himself might be said to obey, to suffer, to die, in a word, to make satisfaction. That person was "holy, harmless, and undefiled," the man of God's delight, his only-begotten and only-beloved Son. Him the most affectionate Father exposed to the greatest reproaches, to the most cruel sufferings

and to an accursed death, as a ransom for the redemption of sinners. These sufferings were, a long time before, predicted in various obscure ways, and also prefigured by the whole train of sacrifices appointed by Moses. He permitted the world, after so many other crimes, to be stained with the guilt of deicide, from the view of which the very sun shrunk back and withdrew his rays a crime, indeed, truly inexpiable, and in the guilt of which the whole Jewish nation is involved. Would not all this, to speak with reverence, seem a kind of solemn farce, if God, by a single breath, could dispel all our sins as a cloud? Is it not contrary to the goodness, the wisdom, and the holiness of God, without any necessity, and, to speak so, in a mere arbitrary way, to proceed in this manner? If he could have reached his end in a direct and compendious way, why did he take such a wide and perplexed compass?

Not done to show his unlimited right over any creature.

IV. I would not have any reply here, that God acted in this manner in order to manifest, that his infinite right or authority over the creature was such, that he might inflict the most grievous torments even on the innocent. If, did it so please him, God could claim that right and authority, yet surely he scarce, if ever, has made use of it: and if at any time he has, it was in sufferings of a far more gentle and mild nature, than what Christ Jesus our Lord underwent. In a word, if, for the display of that right, he might at times inflict such grievous torments, yet he would withhold his hand from his most beloved and only Son, in whom he so clearly testified that he was well pleased.

blish the

Christ's doc

Nor with a V. To insist upon it, that the whole of this affair view to esta- was otherwise ordered by the arbitrary will of God, for truth of confirming the saving doctrine of Christ by this exemtrine by his plary martyrdom, is contrary both to reason, Scripture, death. and experience. For God had many other means, of a far more easy nature, by which he could confirm the doctrine of salvation, than by the dreadful passion of his beloved Son. And the Scripture shows us that this was done by Christ's miracles accompanying his most effectual preaching: and the native demonstration of the truth evidenced the divinity of his doctrine. By these things he approved himself to John's disciples, Matt. xi. 5; and even to the whole multitude, Luke vii. 16, and John vi. 14. And lastly, we gather, both from Scripture and experience, that the cross of Christ was "unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness," 1 Cor. i. 23.

Nor only to

teach us that culties is the

through diffi

VI. Nor are we to say, it was necessary we should be taught in so laborious a manner, or even by the very example of the Son of God, that it is through many tribulations we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven. For if nothing else were intended, we might have been sufficiently taught all this by the examples of other

way to the crown.

martyrs. And then, further, there is scarce one in a thousand of those who are saved, who in the way to salvation, secluding the curse of God, have been called to suffer so many dreadful and great indignities as Christ did. Why, then, were we all to be taught, by the example of the Son of God, that the gate of heaven is on no other terms open, but by passing through those hard sufferings? Unless we say, that satisfaction was made to the justice of God by the sufferings of Christ, and that in no other way satisfaction could be made thereto, there can no other just, holy, and wise reason, and worthy of God, be ever assigned for them. Certainly, for my own part, I never remember to have heard of any.

Nor is it to be asserted wanted satisSon, to deand power to punish sin an

that God

faction by his

clare bis will

necessarily.

VII. If any affirm, that no satisfaction was necessary on account of the justice of God, but that he exacted it on account of some other perfections, namely, to declare his power and will to punish sin, which he might suffer to go unpunished; I answer: such power and will are scarcely to be called perfections in God; seeing Christ, Matt. v. 45, 48, reckons God's mercy, long-suffering, and bounty towards men, even the unjust, among his perfections. Which would certainly be most laudable, if God could at pleasure let sin go unpunished, and if that impunity were no ways inconsistent with his most holy nature, and his law, which is the transcript of that nature. Nay, if God can, consistently with his highest glory, not punish sin, it might be questioned whether he can consistently with this inflict punishment at all: because, in that case, he seems to afflict the sinner without a reason, and ill-treat the work of his hands; and to do any thing without a reason, can on no account be for the honour of God.

Nor are we to affirm, may be reaunknown to

that there

sons, though

us.

VIII. Perhaps some will judge it the safest course not to intrude into the depths of the unsearchable wisdom and infinite power of God, and to say: God, indeed, was pleased for wise and good reasons, though known to himself alone, on no other terms, to set us at liberty, but by the satisfaction of his Son; but yet could in a far different way bring us to salvation, nay, could redeem us by a word or sign. And, indeed, the great Augustine formerly spoke in this strain, de Agone Christiano: "God could have done all things, had he so willed; but did not, and that for wise reasons, though unknown and incomprehensible to us: but though he had done otherwise, yet he would equally have displeased your folly." And again, de Trinitate lib. xiii. c. 10: "Let us maintain, that this method, by which God sees proper to deliver us by a mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, is perfectly good and for the honour of God: but also let us acknowledge, that God was at no loss for another possible

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