Bellarmine considereth this testimony in three places, lib. i. cap. 18, lib. i. cap. 19, lib. v. cap. 5, De Justificat. And he returns three answers unto it ; which contain the substance of all that is pleaded by others unto the same purpose: He saith, — (1.) " That the righteous- ness which is by the law, and which is opposed unto the righteous- ness which is by faith, is not the righteousness written in the law, or which the law requires, but a righteousness wrought without the aid of grace, by the knowledge of the law alone.'' (2.) " That the righte- ousness which is by the faith of Christ is ' opera nostra justa facta ex fide,' — our own righteous works wrought in faith ; wliich others call our evangelical works." (3.) " That it is blasphemous to call the duties of inherent righteousness ^yj/j^lav xai gKvQaXa, — ' loss and dung.' " But he labours in the fire with all his sophistry. For as to the first, — (1.) That by the righteousness which is by the law, the righteousness which the law requires is not intended, is a bold assertion, and ex- pressly contradictory unto the apostle, Rom. ix. 31, x. 5. In both places he declares the righteousness of the law to be the righteousness that the law requires. (2.) The works which he excludes, he calls " the works of righteousness that we have done," Tit. iii. 5, which are the works that the law requires. Unto the second, I say, — (1.) That the substance of it is, that the apostle should profess, " I desire to be found in Christ, not having my own righteousness, but having my own righteousness;" for evangelical inherent righteousness was pro- perly his own. And I am sorry that some should apprehend that the
JUSTIFICATION AS DECLARED BY PAUL. S7l
apostle, in these words, did desire to be found in his own righteous- ness in the presence of God, in order unto his justification ; for nothing can be more contrary, not only unto the perpetual tenor and design of all his discourses on this subject, but also unto the testimony of all other holy men in the Scripture to the same purpose; as we have proved before. And I suppose there are very few true believers at present whom they will find to comply and join with them in this desire of being found in their own personal evangelical righteousness, or the works of righteousness which they have done, in their trial before God, as unto their justification. We should do well to read our own hearts, as well as the books of others, in this matter. (2.) " The righteousness which is of God by faith," is not our own obe- dience or righteousness, but that which is opposed unto it ; that which God imputes unto us, Rom. iv, 6; that which we receive by way of gift, chap. V. 1 7. (3.) That by " the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ," our own inherent righteousness is not intended, is evident from hence, that the apostle excludes all his own righteous- ness, as and when he was found in Christ ; that is, whatever he had done as a believer. And if there be not an opposition in these Avords, between a righteousness that is our own and that which is not our own, I know not in what words it can be expressed. Unto the third, I say, — (1.) The apostle doth not, nor do we say that he doth, call our inherent righteousness "dung;" but only that he "counts" it so. (2.) He doth not account it so absolutely, which he is most remote from ; but only in comparison with Christ. (3.) He doth not esteem it so in itself; but only as unto his trust in it with respect unto one especial end, — namely, our justification before God. (4.) The pro- phet Isaiah, in the same respect, terms all our righteousness " filthy rags," chap. Ixiv. 6 ; and ^'''^V "'.•?? is an expression of as much con- tempt as cxiCaXa.
3. Some say all works are excluded as meritorious of grace, life, and salvation, but not as the condition of our justification before God. But, — (1.) "Whatever the apostle excludes, he doth it absolutely, and Avith all respects; because he sets up something else in opposition unto it. (2.) There is no ground left for any such distinction in this place: for all that the apostle requires unto our justification is, — [1.] That we be found in Christ, not in ourselves. [2.] That we have the righteousness of God, not our own. [3.] That we be made partakers of this righteousness hy faith; which is the substance of what we plead for.
S72 ON JUSTIFICATION.
CHAPTER XIX.
Oljections against the doctrine of justification by tlie imputation of the righteous- ness of Christ — Personal holiness and obedience not obstructed, but furthered by it.
That whicli remaineth to put an issue to this discourse is the con- sideration of some things that in general are laid in objection against the truth pleaded for. Many thmgs of that nature we have occa- sionally met withal, and already removed ; yea, the principal of those which at present are most insisted on. The testimonies of Scripture urged by those of the Roman church for justification by works, have all of them so fully and frequently been answered by Protestant di- vines, that it is altogether needless to insist again upon them, unless they had received some new enforcement; which of late they have not done. That which, for the most part, we have now to do withal are rather sophistical cavils, from supposed absurd consequences, than real theological arguments. And some of those who would walk with most wariness between the imputation of the righteousness of Christ and justification by our own works, either are in such a slip- pery place that they seem sometimes to be on the one side, some- times on the other; or else to express themselves with so much cau- tion, as it is very difficult to apprehend their minds. I shall not, therefore, for the future dare to say that this or that is any man's opinion, though it appear unto me so to be, as clear and evident as words can express it ; but that this or that opinion, let it be main- tained by whom it will, I approve or disapprove, this I shall dare to say. And I will say, also, that the declination that hath been from the common doctrine of justification before God on the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, doth daily proceed towards a direct assertion of justification by works; nor, indeed, hath it where to rest until it comes unto that bottom. And this is more clearly seen in the objections which they make against the truth than in what they plead in defence of their own opinions: for herein they speak as yet warily, and with a pretence of accuracy in avoiding extremes ; but in the other, or their objections, they make use of none but what are easily resolved into a supposition of justification by works in the grossest sense of it. To insist on all particulars were endless ; and, as was said, most of those of any importance have already occasionally been spoken unto. There are, therefore, only two things which are generally pleaded by all sorts of persons. Papists, Socinians, and others with whom here we have to do, that I shall take notice of. The first and fountain of all others is, that the doctrine of justification