Justification onely upon a satisfaction, or, The necessity and verity of the satisfaction of Christ as the alone ground of remission of sin asserted & opened against the Socinians together with an appendix in vindication of a sermon preached on Heb. 2, 10, from the exceptions of H.W., in a pamphlet called The freeness of Gods grace in the forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ / by Robert Ferguson.

SECT. I.

The Title examined. The Scriptur•• prefixed, proved destructive of th•• which they were brought to establish.

IT is not needful to give a•• further account of the induc••¦ments and grounds of •• Preaching upon that subject, s••

what the Preface to the foregoing discourse intimates. The cost of that exercise was before hand con∣sidered, and whatever may be the consequences of it, I hope to have satisfaction▪ and peace in the bear∣ing and encountring of them.

The party who hath appeared in opposition to the doctrine then held forth, hath (from what mo∣tives himself best knows) been pleased to conceal his name, and therefore (seeing it may be omit∣ted without prejudice to the cause •• manage) I shall not concern my self about him, though I could particularly declare him and assign his character: Only it had been ••ut ingenuous, when he had pub∣lished the name of another, and in ••hat exposed him to the law, to ••ave given a more particular ac∣count of himself than what can meerly be gathered from two nu∣••erical letters: wherein he hath ei∣••her endeavoured, or may be able

to wrong me, I pardon him; but what he hath attemped in opposi∣tion to the truth, cannot in consi∣stency to conscience and duty be overlookt.

The Title of his Book is very specious, for what can more in∣vite a Reader, than the Freeness of God's grace in the forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ. But all is not gold which glisters; a Box of poi∣son may have a fair inscription; the Prince of Darkness transforms himself into, and desires to pass for, an Angel of Light. Error loves to appear in the garb o•• truth. I need not to tell whose character that is, deceiving and being deceived, 2 Tim. 3. 13. But we shall endeavour to unmask•• them here, by animadverting these three things.

1. That it is the great endeavou•• of these men to present us as ene∣mies to the grace of God. Where∣as (1.) There is nothing we desir••

more to exalt and admire, and whatever doctrine of ours, either directly or indirectly reflects upon the Freeness of God's Grace we disclaime and renounce it: but we boldly affirme the Grace of God to be as free in the forgiveness of sin upon a satisfaction, as it would have been, if it had been possible to have forgiven sin without a satisfa∣ction; and how it is so, you may see opened at large from page 23. to page 30. of the preceeding dis∣course. (2.) We a••sert our adver∣saries to be in this particular the only men who are tardy, in that they establish justification by works, which the Apostle every where excludes as opposite to, and in this business utterly destructive of grace, Eph. 2. 8, 9. Rom. 11▪ 6.

2. We would have observed that it is the method of these Gentlemen, ••o cry up the grace of God, to the ••verthrow of his holiness and righte∣••usness. We acknowledge God to

be infinitely gracious, but withal we affirme to be infinitely pure and just. We dare not exalt one per∣fection of God, to the diminution of another. We know God can∣not be gracious, if at the same time he may not be righteous also. God can as soon cease to be God, as that one property of his nature should be exalted to the disho∣nour of the rest. Having there∣fore in the foregoing discourse from page 38. to 51. demonstra∣ted the inconsistency of forgive∣ness, without a satisfaction, with the truth, justice, and holiness of God, it necessarily follows, that there can be no such grace in God. He cannot be kind to us so as to be cruel to himself.

3. We take notice, that according to the Socinian Divinity, they might have as well stiled their Book the Freeness of God's Grace in the for∣giveness of sins by Paul, or some other of the Apostles, as by Christ.

For that which they assign as the ground of God's forgiuing sins by Christ, being only that he preach∣ed the doctrine of forgiveness, and afterwards sealed the truth of it with his blood, accords to Paul, and other of the Apostles, as well as to Christ; for they Preached the same doctrine, and that by im∣mediate revelation, and also con∣firmed the truth of it by martyr∣dome and death; so that accord∣ing to the opinion of these Gentle∣men, I see no cause but that they might have given their Book the ti∣tle I alledge, as well as that which they have given it.

The next thing which comes un∣der consideration, is the examination of the Scriptures which he prefixes▪ And he could have quoted few in the whole Bible, which are more destructive of his cause; and here∣in God displays his wisdom, that that whereof his adversaries hope most to serve their design, proves

utterly subversive of it. The first is Rom. 3. 24. Being justified free∣ly by his grace, through the redem∣ption that is in Jesus Christ. Now the opening of this Verse, together with the two following, will with∣out any more ado sufficiently evi∣dence, how disserviceable it is to the design it was brought for. We have in these three verses justifica∣tion set sorth in all its parts and causes. First, the efficient impul∣sive cause of it in God, Causa im∣pulsiva 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, justified freely by his grace, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Justification is free in re∣spect of the love that gave Christ to merit it, Heb. 2. 9. Given by the grace of God to taste death for every man. The alone moving and im∣pulsive cause of God's bestowing Christ▪ was his eternal good plea∣sure and love. It is free also in re∣spect of any works performed by us to deserve justification, Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of the law which we

have done, but according to his mer∣cy he hath saved us. Nothing re∣quired or done on our part to me∣rit it, and this and no more is in∣timated by grace and freely; for that the excluding the merit and satisfaction of Christ is not here intended, the opening of the next words will confirm and de∣monstrate. 2ly. There then is the material and meritorious means procuring justification. Causa im∣pulsiva 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and this is the blood of Christ, through the re∣demption that is in Jesus, and in his blood. Though justification be free in respect of us, yet it is me∣rited in respect of him. The import of redemption we have formerly opened, and proved it to be a deliverance by solution and payment of a ransome. See from pag. 146. to 161. though there be nothing done by us to merit justification, yet we have it only by the intervention of

Christ as the deserving cause; this the Apostle amplifies from God's exhibiting of him to this purpose, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation. What the in∣tendment of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is, is before opened, God set him forth to be a means of atton••ing him, and appeasing his anger, that by him, as a meritorious cause, we might be set free from the wrath to which we stood obnoxious: To this end God constituted and ap∣pointed him Mediator, proposed him in the types and shadows of the law, actually exhibited him in the flesh, and offereth him to the world, as he through whom, as a placamen, God's wrath is appeased, and his favour recover∣ed. 3ly. We have the final cause, First, the finis cujus, the end on the part of God—to declare his right∣ousness, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to show his righteousness; ut justus agnoscatur: By righteous∣ness

here, we can by no means understand God's benignity, kindness, and mercy; not that we deny, but that it may admit that signification in some other places, where the subject matter necessitates to it: but here it clearly signifies that property in God, by which he is enclined to punish sin; and this is the pro∣per and usual import of it in the Scripture, Rom. 2. 5. 2 Thes. 1. 6. Rev. 16. 5, 6. And it is from this principle of his nature carry∣ing him against sin, that he is compared to fire, Deut. 4. 24. Isa. 33. 14. Heb. 12. 29. and in re∣spect of this, wrath and anger are often ascribed to him, Rom. 9. 32. Exod. 32, 10. Psal. 6. 1▪ Rom. 1. 8. That this is the intendment of righteousness here, is evident from hence, that Christ in the shed∣ding of his blood is set out to be a propitiation, which fully argues both that God was angry, and

that by Christ, as a propitiator•• sacrifice, his vindictive and ang•• is appe••sed. Then we have th•• finis cu••, the end with respect t•• us,—that he might be the justifier•• The design God had in all this▪ namely his giving Christ in •• way of death and blood to be •• propitiation, was the taking •• company of poor creatures, wh•• lay obnovious to his indignation▪ into his grace and favour again▪ 4ly. We have the instrumenta•• cause, or the means by which w•• come to be interested in Christ, and to have the redemption an•• justification purchased by him ap∣plyed to us, and that is through faith in his blood. By this time I hope the Reader perceives, not only how impertinent, but how destructive this Text proves to the Pamphleters design, and how he falls by his own weapon.

The second Text which the Gen∣tleman hath been pleased to prefix,

•• Col. 1. 14. in whom we have re∣••emption through his blood, even the ••orgiveness of sins. And this is ••ltogether as unanswerable to the ••nd it was brought for as the for∣••er: For do but observe, here ••ur salvation is expresly asserted ••o be by way of redemption, and ••he price of this redemption to ••e the blood of Christ, which is ••n plain termes to affirm that we ••re saved by the intervention of a ••atisfaction for to be in a proper sense redeemed, and redeemed through blood, is to be set free through the sufferings of Christ as a valuable compensation for our release. But here is the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of the Socinian party, and that which hath imposed up∣on the Pamphleter in his quotati∣ons, that because there is mention of forgiveness, therefore all sa∣tisfrction must be excluded; but the falsity of this is already de∣monstrated, and to suppose an op∣position,

where there is so per∣fect a harmony, is to profess 〈◊〉〈◊〉 unacquaintance with the Gosp••l▪ It is forgiveness in that it is no•• merited by us, but doth this any way hinder, but that it may b•• purchased by Christ. We know no inconsistence betwixt these two, that it should be of pur•• grace in reference to us, and ye•• of justice in reference to Christ.

The third and last Scripture mu∣stured up by the Author in his Title Page, is Prov. 12. 15. He that ju∣stifieth the wicked, and he that con∣demneth the just, even they both ar•• an abomination to the Lord. Is it possible, a Scripture should be produced, more destructive to the design of the bringer? is it an abomination that the wicked should be justified? and shall we afix such a thing on the righteous God? can no Judge acqui•• the guilty without a satisfaction, but he must act that which in its own

nature is an abhorrency? and shall we ascribe this to the holy and righteous Governour of the world. See the foregoing Trea∣tise from pag. 8. to 16. But I suppose the Gentleman thought of serving himself by one part of the Text, not considering how ruinous to his whole enter∣prise the other part would prove; and indeed there is nothing more usual with that sort of men, than to urge their mistaken sense of one part of Scripture, to the over∣throw of the true meaning of another, but to reply to the place.

(1.) I deny that it is against justice to condemn one that is personally innocent, when he hath put himself legally in the room of criminals. It is no ways against equity to send a person to prison, who possibly may live & dy there and have his whole posterity beg∣ger'd, who never contracted one penny deb•• of his own, only be∣came

bound for anothers: So here though Christ was personal∣ly innocent, yet he stood legally in the room of the guilty, and it was that which he had chosen, and in a matter wherein he had as much power as any of us have in our estates; see before from pag. 93. to 107.

(2.) I affirm that these words which the Adversary seeks relief to his cause from, do utterly dis∣serve it; For if he that condemneth the just be an abomination to the Lord? how will they salve the righteousness of God in con∣demning Christ who was an in∣nocent person to pain and death, which is the punishment of the nocent, who as he had no sin of his own, so according to them, he stood charged with no sin of ours: Death being constituted the penalty of sin, could no•• without unrighteousness have been inflicted upon Christ, foras∣much

as he had become answera∣ble for ours; see this proved pag. 124. to 127. And therefore our adversaries by denying the last, and not daring to ass••rt the first, ••re the only men who fasten that ••pon God, which the Text stiles ••bominable; and now we hope ••hat we have not only wrested ••hese weapons out of the enemies ••and, but also wounded himself ••y them.