tism, are washed by Chrift's facrifice from their fins," or obtain this bleffing of juftification, "when they turn again to God unfeignedly"."What the really does mean by it fhall appear prefently. It fhall only firft be further obferved,

That fome of thefe Divines confine juftification wholly to the pardon of jin; and that this they often fo explain as to mean very little except our Reformation. According to Mr. Ludlam, the juftification of a finner in the court of heaven is utterly impoffible. The term, it is well known, is forenfic, and opposed to condemnation, and fignifies to be abfolved and acquitted, or pronounced juft and innocent, in judgment. With this idea in view, Mr, Milner has faid, "By the doctrine of Juftification is meant, the particular method laid down in feripture of honourably acquitting finful men before their God, through the atonement and righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift"." This "definition of juftification," Mr. Ludlam fays, "is unintelligible,” and "utterly inconfiftent:" "For, finful men, so far from being honourably acquitted, cannot be acquitted at all." They "may," he fays, "be pardoned for the fake of another,' but not "acquitted." "It is upon account of his own innocence ONLY, and upon no other account whatsoever," neither upon account of, for the fake of, or through the doings or fufferings of another," "that a man can be honourably acquitted." "That acquittance alone is honourable, where there is no fufpicion of guilt." Now that in the judgment of the fcriptures and our Church, "all men," confidered in themfelves, are finful, and "guilty before God," and "condemned by the law," it is impoffible to

"

(r) Hom. on Salva. p. 12.

(s) See Bishop Watson, Tracts,

Vol. vi. 322, 350, 389, from Bishop Fowler; and Dr. Balguy's Serm.

deny. If Mr. L. therefore is right, their acquittal or justification is impoffible. All that God Almighty himself their Maker and Preferver, and Jefus Chrift their Redeemer, Advocate, and Judge, can do for creatures fo circumftanced is to pardon them.

Our Church however most unequivocally teaches, that for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, by faith," we are not only pardoned, but "accounted righteous before God" that befides "the remiffion of our fins," we are made of unjuft, juft before God: that "Chrift is now the righteousness of all them that truly believe in him;" that "he for them paid their ranfom by his death;" that he for them fulfilled the law in his life; fo that now in him and by him, every true Chriftian man may be called a fulfiller of the law "," "And this juftification or righteousness," fhe fays, "which we fo receive of God's mercy and Chrift's merits, embraced by faith, is taken, accepted, and allowed of God, for our perfect and full justification;" that "by this facrifice we are washed from our fins, brought to God's f

n

66

fins, brought to God's favour; and made his children, and inheritors of his kingdom of heaven." This," he adds,· "is that juftification or righteoufnefs which St. Paul speaketh of when he faith, no man is juftified by the works of the law, but freely by faith in Jesus Christ .'--So in other places, Chrift, fhe faith, "hath purchafed for us the undoubted pardon and forgiveness of our fins, and made at one the Father of heaven with us, in fuch wife, that he taketh us now for his loving children, and for the true inheritors, with Chrift his natural fon, of the kingdom of heaven P." Surely all this means fomething more than our bare pardon as criminals. It is treating us as if we had

never offended, and exalting us to the highest privileges and honours.

The fame fentiments are fully expreffed by all the principal founders of our Church, in their other writings.Thus, in the Confeffion figned by Ferrar, Coverdale, Hooper, Taylor, Bradford, Rogers, &c. in Queen Mary's time, our justification is reprefented as implying "the forgiveness of our fins, and Christ's righteoufnefs imputed to us "Nowell's Catechifm teaches, that "God both forgives our fins, and fo gives us the righteousness of Chrift, by faith, that on account of this we are accepted as if it were our own."--Archbishop Cranmer repeatedly describes juftification in nearly the very words of our article, the being "reputed righteous ".". -Bishop Latimer is very explicit. "When," he fays, "we believe in him (our Saviour) it is like as if we had no fins. For he changeth with us: He taketh our fins and wickedness from us, and giveth us his holiness, righteousness, justice, fulfilling of the law; and fo confequently everlasting life. So that we be like as if we had done no fin at all. For his righteousness standeth us in fo good stead as though we of ourselves had fulfilled the law to the uttermost." "The righteousness of Chrift is accounted to be our righteoufnefs ".""I believe," proceeds the great Lord Bacon, "That the fufferings and merits of Chrift, as they are fufficient to do away the fins of the whole world, fo they are only effectual to those who are regenerate by the Holy Ghoft; who breatheth where he will of free grace; which grace, as a feed incorruptible, quickeneth the fpirit of man, and conceiveth him anew a fon of God and member of Chrift: fo that Christ having man's flesh, and man having Chrift's fpirit, there is an open paffage and mutual imputation, whereby fin and wrath

""

(q) Fox's Acts, p. 1641. above, p. 179. (t) Sermons, Vol. ii. p. 321.

(s) See

(r) p. 110.

(v) Ibid. p. 871.

was conveyed to Chrift from man; and merit and life is conveyed to man from Chrift "."

m

We will only add the fentiments of the judicious Hooker on the fubject. Speaking of the man "who is found in Christ through faith," "Him," he says, " God upholdeth with a gracious eye, putteth away his fin by not imputing it; taketh quite away the punishment due thereunto by pardoning it; and accepteth him in Jefus Chrift, as perfectly righteous, as if he had fulfilled all that was commanded him in the law.Shall I fay more perfectly righteous, than if himfelf had fulfilled the whole law? I must take heed what I fay; but the Apostle faith, God made him to be fin for us, who knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him:' Such are we in the fight of God the Father, as is the very Son of God himself"."

So very different are the fentiments of our Church and her most celebrated primitive Writers from those of Mr. Ludlam! He thinks "finful men" can only be pardoned, and cannot even be acquitted, on account of the Saviour: They think, that on believing in this Saviour, fuch men are thus accounted righteous, accepted into favour and confidence, and entitled to thofe exalted rewards.

So very different are the views of the great Philofopher Bacon and the judicious Hooker, from those of the poetical Mr. Polwhele and his Colleagues! What the former thus fully ftate and zealously inculcate, the latter represent as moft abfurd, dangerous, impious, and blafphemous! Thus, to exhibit Mr. P's. own words, "You inform your parishioner," he fays to Dr. Hawker, "that as the fins of his people are transferred to the perfon of Jefus, fo his <righteoufnefs is imputed to them alfo ;' and that, in confequence of this imputation, they are confidered as righte

(m) Works, Vol. iv. p. 456. annexed to Ecc. Pol. folio, p. 20.

6

(w) Difc. on Juftification,

ous before God. Surely this is one of the most abfurd and dangerous doctrines that ever was devifed by man. If the righteoufnels of Chrift be imputed to the faithful, fo as to become (as you teach us) their righteousness, it follows, that the faithful are equally righteous; and indeed, that the faithful are, in the eye of God, as righteous as Chrift himself!!! How impious; how blafphemons

יין x

But to return to Mr. Ludlam: The fact is, that confidered in its original import, and restricted precisely to the practice of human tribunals, as Mr. L. feems to reftrict it, juftification is not only perfectly distinct from pardon, but is abfolutely incompatible with it. A man cannot there be both pardoned and juftified at once. To be pardoned he must be fuppofed guilty; to be justified he must be fuppofed innocent. But in refpect to our cafe before God, pardon and juftification are always connected. We are pardoned, as finners, for the fake of Chrift, "who paid our ranfom;" we are juftified, as interested by faith in his righteousness, who, in this respect, " fulfilled the law for us." So at leaft the above extracts plainly teach.

But how can the epithet "honourably" be applied to this mode of acquittal? Now clearly it is neither "inconfiftent" nor" unintelligible," if it can properly be applied either to the judge who acquits, or to the perfons acquitted. Mr. Milner, I doubt not, had chiefly the honour of the former in view. Mr. Ludlam does not feem to have confidered that at all. It is however the distinguishing glory of the method of falvation in question, that it provides equally for the honour of both 2. Those who view the tranfaction in the light in which the above quotations place it, will find no difficulty in thinking honourably of the be

(x) Letter, p. 40, 41; See alfo Fellowes' Anti-Calvinift, p. 12, where a fimilar outrage upon this doctrine is committed; &c. &c. (y) See Rom. iv. 1, &c. (z) See Luke ii. 10—14;

1 Cor. i.; 2 Cor. iv.