But the judgment of most Protestants is not only candidly ex- pressed, but approved of also by Bellarmine himself in another place. " Non esset," saith he, " absurdum, si quis diceret nobis imputari Christi justitiam et merita; cum nobis donentur et applicentur; ac si nos ipsi Deo satisfecissamus." De Justif, lib. ii. cap. 10; — " It were not absurd, if any one should say that the righteousness and merits of Christ are imputed unto us, when they are given and applied unto us, as if we ourselves had satisfied God." And this he confirms with that saying of Bernard, Epist. ad Innocent, cxc, "Nam 'si unus pro omnibus mortuus est, ergo omnes mortui sunt,' ut videlicet satisfactio
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 57
unius omnibus imputetur, sicut omnium peccata unus ille portavit." And those who will acknowledge no more in this matter, but only a participation qiiovis modo, one way or other, of the benefits of the obedience and righteousness of Christ, wherein we have the concur- rence of the Socinians also, might do well, as I suppose, plainly to deny all imputation of his righteousness unto us in any sense, as they do, seeing the benefits of his righteousness cannot be said to be im- puted unto us, what way soever we are made partakers of them. For to say that the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us, with re- spect unto the benefits of it, when neither the righteousness itself is imputed unto us, nor can the benefits of it be imputed unto us, as we shall see afterward, doth minister gi'eat occasion of much needless variance and contests. Neither do I know any reason why men should seek countenance unto this doctrine under such an expres- sion as themselves reflect upon as unscriptural, if they be contented that their minds and sense should be clearly understood and appre- hended ; — for truth needs no subterfuge.
The Socinians do now principally make use of this objection. For, finding the whole church of God in the use of sundry expressions, in the declaration of the most important truths of the gospel, that are not literally contained in the Scripture, they hoped for an advantage from thence in their opposition unto the things themselves. Such are the terms of the Trinity, the incarnation, satisfaction, and merit of Christ, as this also, of the imputation of his righteousness. How little they have prevailed in the other instances, hath been suffi- ciently manifested by them with whom they have had to do. But as unto that part of this objection which concerns the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto believers, those by whom it is asserted do say, —
(1.) That it is the thing alone intended which they plead for. If that be not contained in the Scripture, if it be not plainly taught and confirmed therein, they will speedily relinquish it. But if they can prove that the doctrine which they intend in this expression, and which is thereby plainly declared unto the understandings of men, i;* a divine truth sufficiently witnessed unto in the Scripture; then is this expression of it reductively scriptural, and the truth itself so expressed a divine verity. To deny this, is to take away all use of the interpretation of the Scripture, and to overthrow the ministry of the church. This, therefore, is to be alone inquired into.
(2.) They say, the same thing is taught and expressed in the Scripture in phrases equipollent. For it affirms that " by the obe- dience of one" (that is Christ), "many are made righteous," Rom. v. 19; and that we are made righteous by the imputation of right- eousness imto us, " Blessed is the man unto whom God imputcth
58 ON JUSTIFICATION.
rigliteousness without works/' cliap. iv. 6. And if we are made righteous by the imputation of righteousness unto us, that obedience or righteousness whereby we are made righteous is imputed unto us. And they will be content with this expression of this doctrine, — that the obedience of Christ whereby we are made righteous, is the right- eousness that God imputeth unto us. Wherefore, this objection is of no force to disadvantage the truth pleaded for.
2. Socinus objects, in particular, against this doctrine of justification by the imputation of the lighteousness of Christ, and of his satisfac- tion, that there is nothing said of it in the Evangelists, nor in the report of the sermons of Christ unto the people, nor yet in those of his pj'ivate discourses tuith his disciples; and he urgeth it vehe- mently and at large against the whole of the expiation of sin by his death, De Servator., par. iv. cap. 9. And as it is easy "malis inventis pejora addere," this notion of his is not only made use of and pressed at large by one among ourselves, but improved also by a dangerous comparison between the writings of the evangelists and the other writ- ings of the New Testament. For to enforce this argument, that the histories of the gospel, wherein the sermons of Christ are recorded, do make no mention of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ (as in his judgment they do not), nor of his satisfaction, or merit, or expiation of sin, or of redemption by his death (as they do not in the judgment of Socinus), it is added by him, that for his part he is apt to admire our Saviour s sermons, ivho was tlie author of our religion, before the writings of the apostles, though inspired men. Whereunto many dangerous insinuations and reflections on the writings of St Paul, contrary to the faith and sense of the church in all ages, are subjoined. See pp. 240, 241.