" For the present I shall only say, that there 'being too great evidence of a very welcome entertainment and acceptation given by many to an almost pure Socinian justification and exposition of the covenant of grace," etc.
To M'hich Mr B. subjoins: —
" But to be almost an error is to be a truth. There is but a thread between truth and error, and that which is not near to that error is not truth, but is liker to be another error in the other extreme. For truth is one straight line ; error is manifold, even all that swerves from that line, in what space or degree soever."
" Malum omen ! " and the worse because of choice. Whether this proceed -rapa
<rJi» rov Ixiyx'" ayvoixv, OV whether it be TO Ik ffij/niiov [a.ffvXXoy'iir'rov yup xa) tovto),^ it
matters not, but I am sure it is sophistical. The doctrine of justification, which
I reflected on, I did not say was near to error, or almost an error, but near to So-
cinianism, or almost Socinian. If ]Mr B. takes error and Socinianism to be terms
' Arist. Rhet. lib. ii cap. xxvi.
AND OF JUSTIFICATION. 597
convertible, I must crave liberty to dissent. That which is almost error is true; but that which is almost Socinianism may be quite an error, though not an error quite so bad as that of the Socinians concerning the same matter. He that shall deny the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and maintain that our perform- ance of new obedience is the matter of our justification before God, according to the tenor of the new covenant, and yet grant the satisfaction of Christ, and assign it a place (some or other) in the business of our justification, his doctrine is but almost Socinian, and yet, in my judgment, is altogether an error. And so the heat of this first conflict is allayed, " pulveris exigui jactu," its foundation having been only a^sr^/a dv^oXxij;.
But, notwithstanding this seeming discharge, perhaps it may be said that in- deed this was not an honest insinuation, there being no such doctrines abroad amongst us as hold any blamable correspondency with the Socinian doctrine of justification, and it is not an ingenuous and candid way of proceeding to seek to oppress truths, or at least opinions, that are managed with afiiir and learned plea, with names of public abomination, with which indeed they have no communion. I confess this is an unworthy course, a path wherein I am not desirous to walk ; I shall, therefore, from their own writings, give the reader a brief summary, in some few propositions, of the doctrine of the Socinians concerning justification, and then nakedly, without deprecating his censure, leave him to judge of the ne- cessity and candour of my forementioned expressions. They say, then, —
1. That justifying faith, or that faith whereby we are justified, is our receiving of Christ as our Lord and Saviour, trusting in him and yielding obedience to him : —
" Credere in Jesum Christum nihil aliud est quam Jesu Cbristo confidere, et idcirco ex ejus prDescripto vitani instituere." — Socin. Justificat. Synop. ii. p. 17. " Fides est fiducia per Deum in Christum, unde apparet earn in Christo fidem duo comprehendere : uniun, ut non solum Deo, verum et Christo confidamus; deinde utDeo obtcmperemus," etc. — Cat. Eac. cap. ix. de fide; Volkel. de Vera Relig., lib. iv. cap. iii. p. 179, 180 ; Smalc. Eefut. Thes. Franz, disp. 4, p. 103, et disp. 6, p. 184. " Credere in Christum nihil aliud est quam illi confidere, hoc est, ipsi, sub spe promissionum, ab eo nobis factarum, obedire," etc. — Smalc. Refut. Thes. Franz. di.?p. 7, p. 209. "Fides in Christum est fiduciam in eum collocare, et credere ilium esse onmibus obtempcrantibus sibi setei-noe salutis causam. Si proprie et stricte sumatur, ab obedicntia diflert. Sed per metonymiam quandam synecdochiam sa;pe tarn late sumitur, ut omnia pietatis et justitiffi opera comprehendat." — Schlichting. Comment, in cap. xi. ad Heb. p. 519. " Quid est credere in nomen Christi ? Res. Eum excipere, ejus dictis fidem habere, ei confidere, ei denique obtemperare." — Dialog. Anon, de Justificat. p. 4. "Ex his quae hactenus dicta sunt, satis intelligi potest, etiamsi verissimum sit, quemadmodum Scrip- tura apertissime testatur, nos per mortem Christi perque sanguinis ejus fusionem ser- vatos esse, nostraque peccata deleta fuisse, non tamen hoc ipsum credere, esse earn fidem in Christum, qua, ut sacrce literaj decent, justificamur, id quod multi et olim putai'unt, et hodie putaut, adeoque similiter credunt : longe enim aliud est istud credere, et sub spe vitae aeternte ab ipso consequendaj, Christo obedire ; quod necessario rcquiri ad jus- tificationem nostram, antca a nobis et dictum et demonstratum est." — Fragm. de Jus- tificat.; Faust. Socin. Opusc. p. 115.
2. That faith, in justifying, is not to be considered as a hand whereby we lay hold on the righteousness of another, or as an instrument, as though righteou.s- ness were provided for us and tendered unto us; which would overthrow all neces- sity of being righteous in ourselves : —
" Patet quam inepte Meisnerus fidem vocet causam instrumentalem qua justifica- tionem (seu justitiam) apprchendamus seu recipiamus ; patet denique quam lalso (qui error ex priore conscquitur) fidem, quje virtus aut opus est, justificare negct. Quid magis pcvvcrsum ct sacris Uteris adversum dici potuit ? Parum nobis fucrat, omnes reliquas virtutes et pia opera, a comparanda nobis salute excludcre, nisi etiam ipsam in Deo fidem, virtutum omnium matrem et rcginam, de suo solio deturbatam, tarn I'ocda ignominia notassct. Fidem perverse prorsus intclligitis, non enim tanquani conditioncm adipiscendse justificationis consideratis, sed tanquam instrumcntum vcl mammi," etc. —