They are [says Grotius] brought to righteousness without that labour that is re- quiredfor lesser,even philosophical virtues. Faithmakes an abridgment of the work.'
The rrpuTov -^sudog of the great man, in the whole interpretation of that epistle, as of others of sundry sorts besides himself, is, that to be justified is to be brought to righteousness by the practice of virtue and honesty (which answers to that the Scripture calls sanctification), with as gross a shutting out of light as can befall any man in the world. This, with that notion which he hath of faith, is the bottom of this interpretation. But, —
Let him tell us freely what instance he can give of this use of the Avord dcA}fsdv, which here he imposeth on us, that it should signify the facility of doing a thing; and withal, whether these words, dixaiovfxivoi dojpiuv, denote an act of God or of them that are justi- fied;— whether "being justified freely by his grace" be his free justify- ing of us, as to what is actively denoted, or our easy performance of the works of righteousness? That dupidv in this place should relate to our duties, and signify " easily," and not to the act of God accepting us, and import " freely," is such a violence offered to the Scripture as nothing could have compelled the learned man to venture on but pure necessity of maintaining the Socinian justification.
As for the " philosophical virtues," which the gods sold for labour, they were " splendida peccata," and no more.
I " Ad justitiam v(ro lierducuntur eliam sine lahore qui ad minores virtutes, id est, phi- losophicas requiri solet : Fides cnim ejus laboris compendium facit." n:n [gratis] propria opponitur impensoe, sed et labor impendi dicitur, et emi aliquid lahore. Epicharmus Twv tt'ovuv
IluXoZffiv YiiJut 'TU.tTa, T oiyaf c'l (lt>'i, — Grot. in loC,
526 VINDICI/E EVANGELIC^.
As to this part of the words, Socinus himself was not so far out of the way as the annotator, Saith he, " Justificati gratis, sensus est, partam nobis esse peecatorum nostrorura absohationem (id enim ut scis quod ad nos attinet reipsa justificari est) non quidem per legis opera, quibus illam commeriti sumus, sed gratis per gratiam Dei/' De Servat. hb. i. part. ii. cap. ii.
(2.) The end on the part of God is hBu^ig diKaiosuvris, " the de- claration of his righteousness/' AixatoGlvn is properly God's justice as he is a judge. It is true, "iDn is often rendered by the LXX. hixaio- ffvvri, and by us from thence, " righteousness," which signifies, indeed, benignity, kindness, and goodness, — and so "^i^lV, which is "righteous- ness," is rendered by them sometimes sXiog, " mercy," and the cir- cumstances of the place may sometimes require that signification of the word, — but firstly and properly, it is that property of God whereby as a judge he renders to every one according to their ways before him, rewarding those that obey him, and punishing transgressors. This I have elsewhere declared at large.^ Hence he is P"?.^* ^P'l^, Ps. ix. 5; which, as Paul speaks, 2 Tim. iv. 8, is 6 dixaiog KpiT^jg, the " righteous judge." So Rom. i. 32; 2Thess. i. 6; Rev. xv. 5: so Isa. lix. 16, "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him." His righteousness sustained him in executing vengeance on the enemies of his church. This is the righteousness that God aimed to manifest and to declare in our redemption by Christ, " that he might be just," as the words follow, namely, that he might be known to be just and righteous in taking such sore vengeance of sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ his Son, Rom. viii. 8. Hence did God appear to be exceeding righteous, — of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. He declared to all the world what was due to sin, and what must be expected by men if they are not partakers of the redemption which is in the blood of Jesus Christ, Rom. viii. 8.
Grotius would have Bixaioavvri here to signify "goodness" and " bounty;" which as we deny not but that in some places in the Old Testament where it is used by the LXX. it doth or may do, so we say here that sense can have no place which nowhere is direct and proper ; for the thing intended by it in that sense is expressed be- fore in these words, Aupiav rfj x"'P'~' "'^'^oV, and is not consistent with that that follows, E/'s to ilmi aurhv diTcaiov, which represents God as he is dixaiog T-.pir^g, as was spoken before.
Socinus goes another way. Says he, " In Christo, Deus ut osten-
deret se veracem et fidelem esse, quod significant verba ilia, justitige
suae," etc., referring it to God's righteousness of verity and fidehty
in fulfilling his promise of forgiveness of sins. But says Grotius,
' Diatrib. de Justit. Div. vol. x.
OF THE SATISFACTION OF CHRIST. 527
righteousness cannot be liere interpreted, "de fide in promissis p7^ce- ' standis, quia quse sequuntur non ad Judseos solos pertinent, sed etiam ad Gentes quibus promissio nulla erat facta," — " because Gen- tiles are spoken of, and not the Jews only, but to them there was no- promise given." A reason worthy the Annotations ; as though the pro- mise was not made to Abraham that he should be heir of the world, and to all his seed, not according to the flesh only; and as though the learned man himself did not think the first promise to have been made, and always to have belonged, to all and every man in the world. But yet neither will the sense of Socinus stand, for the reasons before given.