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scribes their blessedness by it;— not tliat their whole blessedness doth consist therein, but this concurs unto it, wherein no respect can pos- sibly be had unto any works whatever. And he may justly from hence describe the blessedness of a man, in that the imputation of righteousness and the non-imputation of sin (both which the apostle mentioneth distinctly), wherein his whole blessedness as unto justifi- cation doth consist, are inseparable. And because remission of sin is the first part of justification, and the principal part of it, and hath the imputation of righteousness always accompanying it, the blessedness of a man maybe well described thereby; yea, whereas all spiritual blessings go together in Christ, Eph. i. 3, a man's blessedness may be described by any of them. But yet the imputation of righteousness and the remission of sin are not the same, no more than righteousness imputed and sin remitted are the same. Nor doth the apostle pro- j)ose them as the same, but mentioneth them distinctly, both being equally necessary unto our complete justification, as hath been proved.
Rom. V. 12-21. " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned : (for until the law sin was in the world : but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the simi- litude of Adam's transgi-ession, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead ; much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift : for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ :) Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobe- dience many were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound: but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound : that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might gi'ace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
The apostle, chap. iii. 27, affirms that in this matter of justification all 7ca\j^n<^jg, or " boasting," is excluded ; but here, in the verse fore- going, he grants a boastmg or a xabynriiMa. Oh i^ovov hs, aXKa TioLi xaxiyj^'Lim h Tw Qiui' — " And not only so, but we also glory in God." He excludes boasting in ourselves, because there is nothing in us to procure or
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S22 ON JUSTIFICATION.
promote our own. justification. He allows it us in God, because of the eminency and excellency of the way and means of our justifica- tion which in his grace he hath provided. And the zau^n/jca, or " boasting" in God, here allowed us, hath a peculiar re.spect unto Avhat the apostle had in prospect farther to discourse of Oh //,6vov 81, — " And not only so," — includes what he had principally treated of be- fore concerning our justification, so far as it consists in the pardon of sin ; for although he doth suppose, yea, and mention, the imputation of righteousness also unto us, yet principally he declares our justifi- cation by the pardon of sin and our freedom from condemnation, whereby all boasting in ourselves is excluded. But here he designs a farther progress, as unto that whereon our glorying in God, on a right and title freely given us unto eternal life, doth depend. And this is the imputation of the righteousness and obedience of Christ unto the justification of life, or the reign of grace through righteous- ness unto eternal life.
Great complaints have been made by some concerning the obscurity of the discourse of the apostle in this place, by reason of sundry ellipses, antapodota, hyperbata, and other figures of speech, which either are or are feigned to be therein. Howbeit, I cannot but think, that if men acquainted mth the common principles of Christian re- ligion, and sensible in themselves of the nature and guilt of our ori- ginal apostasy from God, would without prejudice read rdurriv rnv rripioyjiv rjjs rpa^Jjg, — " this place of the ScrijDture," — they will grant that the design of the apostle is to prove, that as the sin of Adam was imputed unto all men unto condemnation, so the righteousness or obedience of Christ is imputed unto all that believe unto the justification of life. The sum of it is given by Theodoret, Dial. iii. " Vide, quomodo quse Christi sunt cum iis qu« sunt Adami confe- rantur, cum morbo medicina, cum vulnere emplastrum, cum j)eccato justitia, cum execratione benedictio, cum condemnatione remissio, cum transgressione obedientia, cum morte vita, cum inferis regnum, Christus cum Adam, homo cum homine."