A treatise of justifying righteousness in two books ... : all published instead of a fuller answer to the assaults in Dr. Tullies Justificatio Paulina ... / by Richard Baxter.

§. 9. He proceedeth, [If there be an Evangeli∣cal Justification at God's Bar, distinct from the legal one, there will then also be in each an absolution of divers sins: For if the Gospel forgive the same sins as the Law, the same thing will be done, and a dou∣ble Justification will be unprofitable and idle. If from divers sins, then the Law forbids not the same things as the Gospel, &c.]

Answ. It's pitty such things should need any An∣swer.

1. It's a false Supposition, That all Justification is Absolution from sin: To justifie the sincerity of our Faith and Holiness, is one act or part of our Justification, against all (possible or actual) false Accusation.

2. The Law of Innocency commanded not the Believing Acceptance of Christ's Righteousness and Pardon, and so the Remnants of that Law in the hand of Christ (which is the Precept of perfect Obedience de futuro) commandeth it only conse∣quently, supposing the Gospel-Promise and Institu∣tion to have gone before, and selected this as the terms of Life; so that as a Law in genere (existent only in speciebus) commandeth Obedience, and the Law of Innocency in specie commanded [personal

perfect perpetual Obedience, as the Condition of Life]; so the Gospel commandeth Faith in our Redeemer, as the new Condition of Life: on which suppositi∣on, even the Law of lapsed Nature further ob∣ligeth us thereto: And as the Commands differ, so do the Prohibitions.

There is a certain sort of sin excepted from par∣don, by the pardoning Law, viz. Final non-per∣formance of its Conditions: And to judg a Man not guilty of this sin, is part of our Justification, as is aforesaid.