Herein, then, standeth a Christian"s safety, not in a bundle of actions of his own, but in a righteousness which cometh to him by grace and gift; for this righteousness is such as comes by gift, by the gift of G.o.d. Hence it is called the gift of righteousness, the gift by grace, the gift of righteousness by grace, which is the righteousness of one, to wit, the obedience of Jesus Christ, Rom. v.
15-19.
And this is the righteousness by which he that doth righteousness is righteous as he is righteous; because it is the very self-same righteousness that the Son of G.o.d hath accomplished by himself. Nor has he any other or more excellent righteousness, of which the law taketh notice, or that it requireth, than this: for as for the righteousness of his G.o.dhead, the law is not concerned with that; for as he is such, the law is his creature, and servant, and may not meddle with him.
The righteousness also of his human nature, the law hath nothing to do with that; for that is the workmanship of G.o.d, and is as good, as pure, as holy, and undefiled, as is the law itself. All then that the law hath to do with, is to exact complete obedience of him that is made under it, and a due satisfaction for the breach thereof; the which, if it hath, then Moses is content.
Now, this is the righteousness with which the Christian, as to justification, is made righteous; to wit, a righteousness that is neither essential to his G.o.dhead, nor to his manhood; but such as standeth in that glorious person (who was such) his obedience to the law. Which righteousness himself had, with reference to himself, no need of at all, for his G.o.dhead, yea, his manhood, was perfectly righteous without it. This righteousness therefore was there, and there only necessary, where Christ was considered as G.o.d"s servant (and our surety) to bring to G.o.d Jacob again, and to restore the preserved of Israel. For though Christ was a Son, yet he became a servant to do, not for himself, for he had no need, but for us, the whole law, and so bring in everlasting righteousness for us.
And hence it is said, that Christ did what he did for us. He became the end of the law for righteousness for us; he suffered for us, he died for us, he laid down his life for us, and he gave himself for us. The righteousness then that Christ did fulfil, when he was in the world, was not for himself simply considered, nor for himself personally considered, for he had no need thereof; but it was for the elect, the members of his body.
Christ then did not fulfil the law for himself, for he had no need thereof. Christ again did fulfil the law for himself, for he had need of the righteousness thereof; he had need thereof for the covering of his body, and the several members thereof; for they, in a good sense, are himself, members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; and he owns them as parts of himself in many places of the holy scriptures; Eph. v. 30; Acts ix. 4, 5; Matt. xxv. 45; x. 40; Mark ix. 37; Luke x. 16; 1 Cor. xii. 12, 27. This righteousness then, even the whole of what Christ did in answer to the law, it was for us; and G.o.d hath put it upon them, and they were righteous in it, even righteous as he is righteous. And this they have before they do acts of righteousness.
Secondly, There is righteousness put into them, before they act righteous things. A righteousness, I say, put into them; or I had rather that you should call it a principle of righteousness; for it is a principle of life to righteousness. Before man"s conversion, there is in him a principle of death to sin; but when he is converted to Christ, there is put in him a principle of righteousness, that he may bring forth fruit unto G.o.d; Rom. vii. 4-6.
Hence they are said to be quickened, to be made alive, to be risen from death to life, to have the Spirit of G.o.d dwelling in them; not only to make their souls alive, but to quicken their mortal bodies to that which is good; Rom. viii. 11.
Here, as I hinted before, they that do righteousness are said to be born of him, that is, antecedent to their doing of righteousness, 1 John ii. 29; "born of him," that is, made alive with new, spiritual, and heavenly life. Wherefore the exhortation to them is, "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto G.o.d, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto G.o.d;" Rom. vi. 13.
Now this principle must also be in men, before they can do that which is spiritual: for whatever seeming good thing any man doth, before he has bestowed upon him this heavenly principle from G.o.d, it is accounted nothing, it is accounted sin and abomination in the sight of G.o.d; for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit: "Men do not gather grapes of thorns; neither of a bramble gather figs." It is not the fruit that makes the tree, but the tree that makes the fruit.
A man must be good, before he can do good; and evil before he can do evil.
This is that which is a.s.serted by the Son of G.o.d himself; and it lieth so level with reason and the nature of things, that it cannot be contradicted: Matth. vii. 16-18; Luke vi. 43-45. "A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil." But notwithstanding all that can be said, it seemeth very strange to the carnal world; for they will not be otherwise persuaded, but that they be good deeds that make good men, and evil ones that make evil men. And so, by such dotish apprehensions, do what in them lieth to fortify their hearts with the mists of darkness against the clear shining of the word, and conviction of the truth.
And thus it was from the beginning. Abel"s first services to G.o.d were from this principle of righteousness; but Cain would have been made righteous by his deeds; but his deeds not flowing from the same root of goodness, as did Abel"s, notwithstanding he did it with the very best he had, is yet called evil: for he wanted, I say, the principles, to wit, of grace and faith, without which no action can be counted good in a gospel-sense.
These two things, then, that man must have that will do righteousness. He must have put upon him the perfect righteousness of Christ: and he must have that dwelling in him, as a fruit of the new birth, a principle of righteousness. Then indeed he is a tree of righteousness, and G.o.d is like to be glorified in and by him; but this the Pharisee was utterly ignorant of, and at the remotest distance from.
You may ask me next, But which of these are first bestowed upon the Christian--the perfect righteousness of Christ unto justification, or this gospel-principle of righteousness unto sanctification?
Answ. The perfect righteousness of Christ unto justification must first be made over to him by an act of grace. This is evident,
1. Because he is justified as unG.o.dly; that is, whilst he is unG.o.dly: but it must not be said of them that have this principle of grace in them, that they are unG.o.dly; for they are saints and holy.
But this righteousness, by it G.o.d justifieth the unG.o.dly, by imputing it to them, when and while they, as to a principle of grace, are graceless.
This is further manifested thus: The person must be accepted before his performance can; "And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;" Gen. iv. If he had respect to Abel"s person first, yet he must have respect unto it for the sake of some righteousness; but Abel as yet had no righteousness; for that he acted, after G.o.d had a respect unto his person. "And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering: but unto Cain, and to his offering, he had no respect."
The prophet Ezekiel also shews us this, where, by the similitude of the wretched infant, and of the manner of G.o.d"s receiving it to mercy, he shews how he received the Jews to favour. First, saith he, "I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness." There is justification; "I covered thy nakedness." But what manner of nakedness was it? Yes, it was then as naked as naked could be, even as naked as in the day that it was born; Ezek. xvi. 4-9. And as thus naked, it was covered, not with any thing but with the skirt of Christ; that is, with his robe of righteousness, with his obedience, that he performed of himself for that very purpose; for by the obedience of one, many are made righteous.
2. Righteousness unto justification must be first; because the first duty that a Christian performeth to G.o.d, must be accepted, not for the sake of the principle from which in the heart it flows, nor yet for the sake of the person that acts it, but for the sake of Christ, whose righteousness it is by which the sinner stands just before G.o.d.
And hence it is said, "By faith Abel offered unto G.o.d a more excellent sacrifice than Cain," Heb. xi. By faith he did it; but faith in respect to the righteousness that justifies; for we are justified by faith; not by faith as it is an acting grace, but the righteousness of faith, that is, by that righteousness that faith embraceth, layeth hold of, and helpeth the soul to rest and trust to, for justification of life, which is the obedience of Christ.
Besides, it is said, by faith he offered; faith then in Christ was precedent to his offering.
Now, since faith was in act before his offer, and since before his offer he had no personal goodness of his own, faith must look out from home; I say to another for righteousness; and finding the righteousness of Christ to be the righteousness which by G.o.d was designed to be performed for the justification of a sinner, it embraces it, and through it offereth to G.o.d a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
Hence it follows, "By which he obtained witness that he was righteous;" by which, not by his offering, but by his faith; for his offering, simply as an offering, could not have made him righteous if he had not been righteous before; for "an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit." Besides, if this be granted, why had not G.o.d respect to Cain"s offering as well as to Abel"s? For did Abel offer?
So did Cain. Did Abel offer his best? So did Cain his. And if with this we shall take notice of the order of their offspring, Cain seemed to offer first, and so with the frankest will and forwardest mind; but yet, saith the text, "The Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering." But why to Abel? Why, because his, person was made righteous before he offered his gift: "By which he obtained witness that he was righteous;" G.o.d testifying of his gifts, that they were good and acceptable because they declared Abel"s acceptation of the righteousness of Christ, through the riches of the grace of G.o.d.
By faith, then, Abel offered to G.o.d a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. He shrouded himself under the righteousness of Christ, and so, of that righteousness, he offered to G.o.d. G.o.d also looking and finding him there (where he could not have been, as to his own apprehension, no otherwise than by faith), accepted of his gift; by which acceptation (for so you may understand it also) G.o.d testifieth that he was righteous, for G.o.d receiveth not the gifts and offerings of those that are not righteous, for their sacrifices are an abomination unto him, Prov. xxi. 27.
Abel then was, I say, made righteous, first, as he stood unG.o.dly in himself; G.o.d justifieth the unG.o.dly, Rom. iv. Now, being justified, he was righteous; and being righteous, he offered his sacrifice of praise to G.o.d, or other offerings which G.o.d accepted, because he believed in his Son. But this our Pharisee understandeth not.
3. Righteousness by imputation must be first, because we are made so, to wit, by another--"By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Now to be made righteous, implies a pa.s.siveness in him that is so made, and the activity of the work to lie in some body else; except he had said, they had made themselves righteous; but that it doth not, nor doth the text leave to any the least countenance so to insinuate; nay, it plainly affirms the contrary, for it saith, by the obedience of one, of one man, Jesus Christ, many are made righteous; by the righteousness of one, Rom. v. So then, if they be made righteous by the righteousness of one; I say if many be made righteous by the righteousness of one, then are they that are so, as to themselves, pa.s.sive and not active, with reference to the working out of this righteousness. They have no hand in that; for that is the act of one, the righteousness of one, the obedience of one, the workmanship of one, even of Christ Jesus.
Again, If they are made righteous by this righteousness, then also they are pa.s.sive as to their first privilege by it; for they are made righteous by it; they do not make themselves righteous by it.
Imputation is also the act of G.o.d. "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom G.o.d imputeth righteousness."
The righteousness then is a work of Christ, his own obedience to his Father"s law; the making of it ours is the act of the Father, and of his infinite grace: "For of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of G.o.d is made unto us wisdom and righteousness." "For G.o.d hath made Jim to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in him." And both these things G.o.d shewed to our first parents, when he acted in grace towards them after the fall.
There it is said, the Lord G.o.d made unto Adam, and unto his wife, coats of skins, and clothed them; Gen. iii. 21.
Whence note,
(1.) That Adam and his wife were naked, both in G.o.d"s eye and in their own, verses 10, 11.
(2.) That the Lord G.o.d made coats of skins.
(3.) That in his making of them, he had respect to Adam and to his wife, that is, he made them.
(4.) That when he had made them, he also clothed them therewith.
They made not the coats, nor did G.o.d bid them make them; but G.o.d did make them himself to cover their nakedness with. Yea, when he had made them, he did not bid them put them on, but he himself did clothe them with them: for thus runs the text; "Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord G.o.d make coats of skins, and clothed them." O it was the Lord G.o.d that made this coat with which a poor sinner is made righteous! And it is also the Lord G.o.d that putteth it upon us. But this our Pharisee understandeth not.
But now, if a man is not righteous before he is made so, before the Lord G.o.d has by the righteousness of another made him so; then whether this righteousness comes first or last, the man is not righteous until it cometh; and if he be not righteous until it cometh, then what works soever are done before it comes, they are not the works of a righteous man, nor the fruits of a good tree, but of a bad. And so again, this righteousness must first come before a man be righteous, and before a man does righteousness. Make the tree good, and its fruit will be good.
Now, since a man must be made righteous before he can do righteousness, it is manifest his works of righteousness do not make him righteous, no more than the fig makes its own tree a fig-tree, or than the grape doth make its own vine a vine. Hence those acts of righteousness that Christian men do perform, are called the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of G.o.d; Phil. i. 11.
The fruits of righteousness they are by Jesus Christ, as the fruits of the tree are by the tree itself; for the truth is, that principle of righteousness, of which mention has been made before, and concerning which I have said it comes in in the second place; it is also originally to be found for us nowhere but in Christ.
Hence it is said to be by Jesus Christ; and again, "Of his fulness have we all received, and grace for grace;" John i. 16. A man must then be united to Christ first, and so being united, he partaketh of this benefit, to wit, a principle that is supernatural, spiritual, and heavenly. Now, his being united to Christ, is not of or from himself, but of and from the Father, who, as to this work, is the husbandman; even as the twig that is grafted into the tree officiateth not, that is, grafteth not itself thereunto, but is grafted in by some other, itself being utterly pa.s.sive as to that.
Now, being united unto Christ, the soul is first made partaker of justification, or of justifying righteousness, and now no longer beareth the name of an unG.o.dly man; for he is made righteous by the obedience of Christ; he being also united to Christ, partaketh of the root and fatness of Christ; the root, that is, his divine nature; the fatness, that is, the fulness of grace that is laid up in him to be communicated unto us, even as the branch that is grafted into the olive-tree partaketh of the root and fatness of the olive-tree. Now partaking thereof, it quickeneth, it groweth, it buddeth, and yieldeth fruit to the praise and glory of G.o.d; Rom. xi. 17.
But these things, as I have often said, the poor Pharisee was ignorant of, when so swaggeringly he, with his "G.o.d, I thank thee,"
came into the temple to pray. And, indeed, in that which hath been said is something of the mystery of G.o.d"s will in his way with his elect; and such a mystery it is, that it lieth hid for ever to nature and natural men; for they think of nothing less than of this, nor of nothing more, when they think of their souls and of salvation, than that something must be done by themselves to reconcile them to G.o.d.
Yea, if through some common convictions their understandings should be swayed to a consenting to that, that justification is of grace by Christ, and not of works by men; yet conscience, reason, and the law of nature, not being as yet subdued by the power and glory of grace unto the obedience of Christ, will rise up in rebellion against this doctrine, and will over-rule and bow down the soul again to the law and works thereof for life.
4. Righteousness by imputation must be first, because, else faith, which is a part, yea, a greater part of that which is called a principle of grace in the soul, will have nothing to fix itself upon, nor a motive to work by. Let this therefore be considered by those that are on the contrary side.
1. Faith, so soon as it has a being in the soul, is like the child that has a being in the mother"s lap; it must have something to feed upon; not something at a distance, afar off, to be purchased (I speak now as to justification from the curse), but something by promise made over of grace to the soul; something to feed upon to support from the fears of perishing by the curse for sin. Nor can it rest content with all duties and performances that other graces shall put the soul upon; nor with any of its own works, until it reaches and takes hold of the righteousness of Christ. Faith is like the dove, which found no rest any where until it returned to Noah into the ark.
But this our Pharisee understandeth not.
Perhaps some may object, that from this way of reasoning it is apparent, that sanctification is first; since the soul may have faith, and so a principle of grace in it, and yet, as yet it cannot find Christ to feed and refresh the soul withal.
Answ. From this way of reasoning it is not at all apparent that sanctification, or a principle of grace, is in the soul before righteousness is imputed and the soul made perfectly righteous thereby. And for the clearing up of this, let me propose a few things.
1. Justifying righteousness, to wit, the obedience of that one man, Christ, is imputed to the sinner, to justify him in G.o.d"s sight; for his law calls for perfect righteousness, and before that be come to, and put upon the poor sinner, G.o.d cannot bestow other spiritual blessings upon him; because by the law he has p.r.o.nounced him accursed; by the which curse he is also so holden, until a righteousness shall be found upon the sinner, that the law and divine justice can approve of, and be contented within. So then, as to the justification of the sinner, there must be a righteousness for G.o.d; I say, for the sinner, and for G.o.d: for the sinner to be clothed within, and for G.o.d to look upon, that he may, for the sake thereof in a way of justice, bless the sinner with forgiveness of sins: for forgiveness of sins is the next thing that followeth upon the appearance of the sinner before G.o.d in the righteousness of Christ; Rom. iv. 6, 7.
Now, upon this forgiveness follows the second blessing. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; and so, consequently, hath obtained for us the forgiveness of sins: for he that is delivered from the curse hath received forgiveness of sins, or rather is made partaker thereof. Now, being made a partaker thereof, the second blessing immediately follows, to wit, the blessing of Abraham, that is, the promise of the Spirit through faith; Gal. iii. 13. 14. But this our Pharisee understandeth not.
But now, although it be of absolute necessity that imputed righteousness be first, to the soul; that is, that perfect righteousness be found upon the sinner first by G.o.d, that he may bestow other blessings in a way of justice: