If then you would avoid a judgment, which strikes not only at your estates and lives, but at your souls: if you would prevent that dreadful stroke, which may not only reach yourselves, but your posterity, your children and children's children; if you would not have them and yourselves, and thousands and millions with you, bereaved of the Gospel, and the means of grace and life; take all care and pains that the influences of the ordinances do not slide from you, that they be not as water spilt upon the ground. Be faithful and diligent in the use of the forementioned directions, and all other means which may be effectual to fix

And if hereby your hearts are wrought up to such a resolution, "the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of your hearts."

THE

DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION

IS DANGEROUSLY CORRUPTED IN THE ROMAN CHURCH."

ROMANS iii. 24.

BEING JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS."

THE apostle, in these words and the following, gives an exact account of the doctrine of justification, dictated to him by the Spirit of truth. And this will be the best ground we can proceed on, to discover the errors by which it is corrupted. That is our present business, to which I hasten; only first opening the words by a brief touch upon them.

Being justified.-To be justified, is to be freely accepted of God as righteous, so as to have pardon and title to life upon the account of Christ's righteousness. We cannot be accepted as righteous, till we be acquitted from guilt. The apostle describes justification by remission of sins. (Rom. iv. 5, 6.) And being accepted as righteous, we are accepted to life the apostle calls it "justification of life." (Rom. v. 17, 18, 21.) This is upon the account of Christ's righteousness. We cannot be justified upon our own account; for so we are condemned, and cannot but be so: nor upon other account but Christ and his righteousness; for there is no justification without righteousness, and none sufficient but that of

• The fourth course of "Morning Exercises " in the order of time, though placed last in Mr. Nichols' uniform edition, is entitled, "The Morning Exercise against Popery: or, the Principal rrors of the Church of Rome detected and confuted, in a Morning Lecture preached lately in Southwark, by several Ministers of the Gospel in or near London, MDCLXXV." This course originated with Mr. Nathaniel Vincent, one of the ejected ministers, 1662, who had a large congregation at a meeting-house near the Maese, or Maze, in the parish of St. Olave, Southwark, where the discourses were delivered. Mr. Vincent edited the volume, and in his address "To the Reader," he says, "I exceedingly rejoice that my pulpit was so much honoured by my fathers and brethren when they preached in it, and that ever such a project against popery came into my mind." This discourse on Justification, by Mr. Clarkson, is the twelfth in the numerical order, but is the fifteenth in the logical arrangement, as is shown by Mr. Nichols from the "Table of Theses."Morning Exercises, vol. v. pp. 543-546.

Christ; which the apostle includes in "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Freely by his grace.—The Lord justifies by his grace, and this acts freely. That which moves him is called, in Titus iii. 4, xpNOTÓTηS kaì piλavoρómia, "kindness and love;" which in verse 7 is "grace :" "That being justified," Tỷ ékeívov xápiri, "by his grace." So justification is тò xápioμa, "the free gift;" (Rom. v. 16;) ʼn dwpea év xápiti, "the gift by grace." (verse 15.) This grace, as it is free mercy, so it acts like itself, dópear, "freely;" (the word used in Matt. x. 8: Aópeav Maßere, "Freely ye have received" it ;) he gives it freely to those who have no merit to deserve it: there is none in us; what there was, was in Christ. It is

Through the redemption.-Redemption is deliverance by a price, or valuable consideration. This price was the blood of Christ, (Rom. iii. 25; v. 9; Eph. i. 6, 7,) his death, (Rom. viii. 33, 34,) his obedience, (Rom. v. 19,) his righteousness, (verse 18.)

We may view the text distinctly in three parts:-
I. Believers are "justified."

II. "Freely by his grace."

III. "Through the redemption that is in Christ."

Against each of these the Papists have advanced several errors of pernicious consequence, and thereby dangerously corrupted the whole doctrine of justification.

I. That a sinner may be saved, the Scriptures declare that he must be both justified and sanctified: the Romanists, as if one of those were but requisite, call that "justification," which in Scripture is "sanctification;" and that which in Scripture is "justification," they admit not, as distinct from inherent righteousness.

The apostle Paul, who most insists upon the doctrine of justification, delivers these two as distinct things. (1 Cor. vi. 11, and elsewhere.) He ascribes justification commonly to the blood of Christ; (as in the text, and Rom. v. 8, 9 ;) sanctification to the Spirit of Christ. (Titus iii. 5.)

However, the Papists' promiscuous use of the words might be tolerated, if they did not confound the things, and contend that we are formally justified by that which is the form and essence of sanctification, namely, inherent righteousness. The danger is that which the apostle would have the Jews avoid, when he expresseth his hearty desire that they might be saved: "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." (Rom. x. 3.) The Papists trust to their own righteousness for acceptance and life, and will be justified in the sight of God by that which indeed is imperfect and culpable, and, so, liable to be condemned; and being convinced that they

cannot be justified by an imperfect righteousness, therefore they will have their inherent righteousness to be perfect: not so perfect as it will be in heaven; but so as to be free from sin, and to answer the demands of the law, since they know, otherwise, it would not justify them. And this fancy of a sinless perfection runs them into many absurd and pernicious conceits.

First. For they are hereby obliged to maintain, that no corruption in their natures after baptism, no aversion from God, no inclination to evil, though habitual and fixed, has anything of sin in it; no, nor any vicious habits acquired by frequent acts of sin : all is sinless that is in the soul when grace or charity is once therein. And so there is no need of mortification, no possibility of it; for there is nothing of sin in them to be mortified, no habit or disposition, natural or accessary, upon which the charge of sin can be truly fixed. And as they leave no need of, no place for mortification, so after they have discarded the Scripture justification, to make way for a sanctification to justify them, they deal no better with that neither; whether it be taken for the first rise of holiness, which is properly regeneration; or for the growth and increase of it, which is the sanctification that the Scripture calls for commonly under this notion ;-they will have it to be a second justification. As for the first sanctification, by their principles, it excludes all sin, and is, so far, perfect, or nothing; and so indeed is a mere chimera, such a thing as God never gave, never promised, as no mere man on earth ever had. (1 John i. 8.) Yet this and nothing else must justify them, and make them worthy of eternal life: and thus they will be justified and saved by a mere fancy, or nothing.

As for growth and increase in holiness, which is the sanctification that the Scripture makes so necessary, and calls for with so much importunity, this they make superfluous and unnecessary. No man needs design or endeavour it ; for what needs he look after more of that which he hath already in perfection? They have it in such perfection, as [that]

• Quod dicebamus, justitiam et charitatem in hâc vitâ non esse perfectam, comparatione duntaxat ad illam patriæ reputandum est. Dominicus a Soto De Nat. et Grat. lib. iii. cap. iv. p. 134. The council of Trent calls it justitiam candidam et immaculatam, ["white and spotless justice."] Sess. v. cap. lxvii. In the Trent catechism it is divina qualitas in animâ inhærens, quæ animarum vestrarum omnes maculas delet, "A divine quality, inherent in the soul, which takes away all stains and spots from your souls." Ea (charitas) siquidem est verissima, plenissima, perfectissima justitia, "Since it (grace) is a most true, full, and perfect righteousness." Bellarminus De Justif. lib. ii. cap. xvi. p. 806.

Habitus justitiæ contrarius est habitui injustitiæ; quia non est peccatum, sed vitium, ex malis actibus contractum; quale etiam in justificatis reperiri potest, "A habit contrary to righteousness is a habit of unrighteousness: for it is not a sin, but a vice, contracted from evil acts; such as may be found even in justified persons." Ibid. p. 805. Dispositio vel habitus acquisitus vitium De Amiss. Grat. lib. v. est, non peccatum, "A disposition or acquired habit is a vice, not a sin." "Since all cap. xix. p. 337. Omnes siquidem leges præcipiunt vel prohibent actus, non habitus, Jaws command or prohibit acts, not habits." Melchior Canus De Poenit. p. 870.

there is no culpable defect in it." It is no sin to have no more; (else it would not be sufficient to their justification ;) and what necessity is there to labour for that which it is no sin to want? Their doctrine of justification by a righteousness of their own inculpably perfect, obliges them to hold, that what grace they receive at first, though in the very lowest degree, is all that God commands and makes necessary. If he commanded more, the want of more would be culpable. So that every degree of holiness or charity above the least of all, is only sub consilio, แ mere matter of counsel;" which they may neglect without contracting so much as the guilt of a venial fault.

Thus all progress in holiness is hereby superseded: after the first step they sin not, though they never make another. And all the degrees of holiness above the lowest are unnecessary: they may be without all of them, safely and inculpably. In short: if the want of all other degrees but the least of all, be a sin; if the lowest degree of all be not righteousness in perfection; by their principles, they are not justified, and cannot be saved. And so the main stress of their salvation lies upon a gross and palpable delusion, that such a righteousness is perfect as is furthest of all from perfection, and in a degree next to nothing.

Secondly. They seem to include remission of sins in justification; but it is not that pardon which the Gospel offers, but another thing under the disguise of the same word; and particularly, such as lies cross to every part of the text. Their pardon is not an act of God, absolving a guilty person upon the account of satisfaction given; but an act or consequent of infused grace or charity within us, abolishing sin, and not otherwise taking away the guilt but by taking away the being of it.d

The best account I can give of it, in brief, is this, collected out of their chief authors. They observe in sin the fault and the guilt: and the guilt, either as it is the desert of sin, and the offender worthy of punishment; or as it is an obligation to punishment, and the sinner bound to suffer it. The former is, with them, reatus culpæ; the latter,

Nulla enim est charitas simpliciter imperfecta: sufficit autem quilibet gradus charitatis, ut quis servet verbum, id est, præcepta, Domini, "For no grace is simply imperfect: but any degree of grace is sufficient for any one, in order to his keeping the word, that is, the precepts, of the Lord." Bellarminus De Purgat. lib. xxii. cap. iii. p. 1381.

Si non pecco (ex sententiâ S. Thomæ) si amem Deum nisi uno gradu amoris, certè non teneor in rigore ampliùs amare: implicat enim contradictionem, quòd non peccem, non faciendo quod facere teneor: ergò, si addam alterum gradum amoris, amo plùs quàm teneor, atque eo modo facio actum supererogationis et consilii. Idem De Monach. lib. ii. cap. xiii. p. 1162.

• Nec ullæ (leges) divinæ consultoriæ etiam ad veniale obligent. Navarri Manuale, cap. xxiii. n. xlix. p. 564; et cap. xxi. n. xliii.; Sylvestri Summa, in verb. Inobedientia, sect. ii.

Charitas culpam delet per actum suum proprium: pœnam autem tollit per opera satisfactoria quæ ipsa charitas imperat, "Grace destroys the guilt by its own proper act: but it removes the punishment by the works of satisfaction which grace itself commands." Bellarminus De Purgat. lib. ii. cap. iii. p. 1381.