Ans. The whole Trinity ; all the persons in the blessed Trinity have an hand in the justification of a sinner, — opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa. God the Father is said to justify, Rom. viii, 33., " It is God that justifieth." God the Son is said to justify, Acts xiii. 39., " By him all that believe are justified." God the Holy Ghost is said to justify, 1 Cor. vi. II., " But ye are justified by the Spirit of our God." God the Father justifies, as he pronounccth us righteous ; God the Son justifies, as he imputes his righteousness to us ; and God the Holy Ghost justifies, as he clears up our justification, and seals us up to the day of redemption.
Quest. What is the end of our justifica- tion ?
Ans. The end is, 1. That God may in- herit praise, Eph. i. 6., " To the praise of the glory of his grace." Hereby God rais- eth the CA^erlasting trophies of liis o^^•n ho- nour ; how will the justified sinner proclaim the love of God, and make heaven ring with his praises ! — 2. That the justified per- son may inherit glory, Rom. viii. 30., " Whom he justified, them he also glorifi- ed." God, in justifying, doth not only ab- solve a soul from guilt, but atlvance him to dignity : as Joseph was not only loosed from prison, but made lord of the kingdom. Justification is crowned with glorification.
Quest. Whether are ice justifitd from eternity ?
Ans. No : for, 1. By nature we are un- der a sentence of condemnation, John iii. 18. But we could not be at all condcnnied,
teousucss to u.s, Jer. xxiii. 6., " This is the if we were justified from eternity. — 2. The name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah scripture confines justification to those who
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believe and repent, Acts iii. 19., " Repent, that your sins may be blotted out." There- fore their sins were uncancelled, and their persons unjustified, till they did repent. Though God doth not justify us for our re- pentance, yet not without it. The Anti- ninnians erroneously hold, that we are jus- tilii'd from eternity ; this doctrine is a key which opens the door to all licentiousness ; what sins do they care they commit, so long as they bold they are ab celerno jus- tified whether they repent or not ?
licfore I come to the uses, I shall lay down fom* maxims or positions about jus- tification.
Position 1. That justification confers a real benefit upon the person justified. The acquitting and discharging of the debtor, by virtue of the satisfaction made by the surety, is a real benefit to the debtor ; a robe of righteousness, and a crown of righteous- ness, are real benefits.
Position 2. All believers are alike justi- fied ; juslificat'io non recipit magis et minus^ — though there are degrees in grace, yet not in justification ; one is not justified more than another, the weakest believer is as perfectly justified as the strongest. Mary Magdalene is as much justified as the Vir- gin Mary. This may be cordial-water to a weak believer : though thou hast but a drachm of faith, thou art as truly justifi- ed as he who is of the highest stature in Christ. .
Position 3. Whosoever God justifies, he sanctifies, 1 Cor. \A. 1 1., " But ye are sanctified, but ye are justified." The pa- pists calumniate the protestants; they re- port, we hold that men continuing in sin are justified; whereas all our protestant writers affirm, that righteousness ini])uted, \\z. Justification, — and righteousness inhe- rent, viz. Sanctification, — must be insepa- rably united. Holiness indeed is not the cause of our justification, but it is the con- comitant; the heat in the sun is not the cause of its light, but it is the concomitant. It is absurd to imagine that God should justify a people, and they go on in sin. If God should justify a peojde and not sanctify them, he should justify a peoj)k' whom he could not glorify. God, as he i.s an holy God, cannot lava sinner in his bo-
som. Tlie metal is first refined, before the king's stamp is put upon it ; first the soul is refined Avith holiness, before God puts the roval stamp of justification up- on it.
Position 4. Justification is inamissihilis, — it is a fixed permanent thing, it can never be lost. Tiie Arminians hold an apostarv from justification : to-day justified, to-mor- row unjustified ; to-day a Peter, to-morrow a Judas; to-day a member of Christ, to- morrow a limb of Satan ; a most uncomfor- table doctrine. Indeed justified persons may fall from degrees of grace, — they mav leave their first love, — they may lose Goil's favour for a time, — but not lose their ius- tification. If they are justified then tlicv are elected ; they can no more fall from llieir justification than from their election. If they are justified, then they have union with Christ : and can a member of Christ ])e broken off? If one justified pers<tn may fall away from Christ, they all may, and so Christ should be an head Avithout a body.