Therefore as he is a King to subdue Enemies, the faith of his people is to act
upon him, as such, when they would have their spiritual Enemies subdued;
& as He is a Prophet to teach, the faith of his people must act upon him, as
such, when they would have Light, Counsel & Direction; so, as He is a
Priest to Die, Satisfie, make Atonement, Reconciliation & Peace, their
Faith is to act upon him, as such, when they would have Guilt removed,
& Peace made up betwixt God, & their souls.
Sixtly. The end & designe of asserting Christ, as King to be as specially
the Object of Faith, in Justification, as is Christ, as Priest, may sufficient∣ly
render it suspicious; for it is, as we touched above, to bring-in our Obe∣dience,
as distinct from Faith, or as included in it, to be the Condition of
Justification, the same manner of way, that Faith is: though, as was clea∣red
above, the consequence will not be fou••d good. The reall question
here (as is well observed by others) is not, whether any thing of Christ,
•• to be excluded from being the Object of Justifying Faith. But what, in
and of our selves, under the name of Receiving Christ as King, is to
be admitted to share with Faith, in its place and interest, in our Justi∣fication?
Seventhly. To say, that faith acteth, in order to justification, in as spe∣cial
a manner, on Christ as a King, as on Christ as a Priest, is to alter the
Nature, Use & Ends of Faith, in this work & to give it the Place & Power
of a proper potestative condition, as it is a vertue & work of ours; & not
to look upon it as bringing all sutable supplies, in a distinct manner, from
Christ, as was shown above: and this is but sutable to that alteration of the
Nature of the New Covenant, that is made by the asserters of this, where∣by
it is of the same specifick nature with the Old Covenant of Works; as if
it were no more, but a new Edition thereof, with some alterations, as to
the Conditions.
Let us now see, what Mr. Baxter saith to the contrary, in his Catholick
Theol. p. 2. of moral works Sect. 7. p. 55. &c.
He tels us (n. 105.) That to be justified by faith in Paul's sence, is all one
as to be justified by becoming Christians. Ans. We grant, with him, that
to be a Believer, a Disciple, and a Christian, are all one, in the Gospel sense,
& that by the same Faith, by which one is justified, he is a Christian also:
but this proveth not, that Faith, in order to justification, acteth not, in a
special manner, on Christ, as a Priest; and we have found, how Paul both
in his Doctrine, and in his own Practice, explaineth the acting of Faith in
Justification. This may serve for an answere also to what he saith (n. 106.)
to wit, that the faith, by which we are justified is essentially a beleeving fiducial
consent to our Covenant relation to God the Father, Son & Holy Ghost: for we grant,
that it is but one & the same Faith, which doth all this, but yet this Faith
may be conceived, as acting in a peculiar manner in order to justification.
We grant also, that it is the same faith, by which we have Right to the be∣nefites
of the Covenant, & by which we are justified; Yet we say, that
in order to Justification, that same Faith, which receiveth whole Christ,
and thereby a Right to the benefites of the Covenant, acteth in a peculiar