Samuel Richardson encourages believers to draw comfort from their justification, accomplished by the finished work of Christ, rather than looking to their ever-imperfect growing in sanctification.
Justification
All posts tagged Justification
“We claim Salvation not in the right of any act of ours, not upon the Rent of Faith (as men hold Tenements by the payment of a Penny, a Rose, or such like) no such thing here; all is paid to the utmost Farthing by our Surety, and we hold and claim upon the obedience of Jesus Christ alone.”
“Christ and the Condition: Samuel Petto (c.1624-1711) on the Mosaic Covenant,” by Michael G. Brown
Although Christ fulfilled the Law for us, so as it is imputed to us, and we made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5.21. Yet it doth not follow that we should be freed altogether from the obligation of the Law unto obedience; for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, his obeying and fulfilling of the Law for us, was as the condition of Life, or that upon which the Lord hath promised Justification unto Life; but we may be (and are) obliged to obedience, not for that, but for other ends; not in the least for our Justification and title to Life; but as a part of our Sanctification; and we sin in not obeying, that we may glorifie God by those fruits of our being Spiritually alive. Christ’s obedience was for one end, ours is for another; as his sufferings were for one end, our afflictions for another, and neither of them unnecessary.
“Christ and the Condition: Samuel Petto (c.1624-1711) on the Mosaic Covenant,” by Michael G. Brown
Hence in opposition to that Sinai Law which ran upon those terms Do and Live, under the dispensation of the New, we hear so often of Believe and be saved, and he which believeth have everlasting Life, Mark 16.16.
Joh.3.16, 36. Not that believing now, taketh the place of doing in the Old Covenant; for then it must be our righteousness unto Justification, Gal 3.12. Rom 10.5., whereas that which justifieth is called, the righteousness of Faith, ver.6. and Phil.3.9. and therefore Faith is distinct from that righteousness it self, is not the least Atome of it: therefore, not our believing, but the obedience of Jesus Christ, is that which cometh in the room and stead of that doing for Life intended in the Law.
“Christ and the Condition: Samuel Petto (c.1624-1711) on the Mosaic Covenant,” by Michael G. Brown
“The Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament, often mention faith in Christ and say that whoever believes in him is saved, does not perish, is not judged, has eternal life, and so on (see John 3:16 and 5:24). Saying that people who believe in him are condemned because they have faith without works is to pervert everything, making Christ a destroyer and a murderer, and Moses a saviour. I admit that our adversaries do not use these exact words, but this is in fact what they teach. They say that faith in Christ does not make us free from sin, but only faith combined with love. This is to say that Christ leaves us in our sins and in the wrath of God and makes us guilty of eternal death, whereas if you keep the law, faith justifies you because it has works, without which faith is no help. Therefore, works justify, and not faith, they claim. What pernicious and cursed teaching this is!
“Paul bases his argument on an impossibility. If we are justified in Christ and yet are still sinners and can be justified only by some means other than Christ—namely, by the law—then Christ cannot justify us but only accuses and condemns us. And it then follows that Christ died in vain, and this passage and others (such as John 1:29and 3:16) are not true. The whole Scripture is then false when it tells us that Christ is the justifier and Saviour of the world. If we are still sinners after we have been justified by Christ, it follows that those who fulfill the law are justified without Christ. If this is true, then we are heretics, professing the name and Word of God outwardly but in reality denying Christ and his Word. It is therefore great impiety to say that faith does not justify unless it is combined with works of love. If faith and works together justify us, then Paul’s words are not true when he says we are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law (verse 16).”
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“To teach that faith in Christ does not justify us unless we observe the law is to make Christ a minister of sin—that is, a teacher of the law, teaching the very same doctrine that Moses did. Thus Christ is no Saviour, no giver of grace, but a cruel tyrant who, like Moses, requires things that none of us can do. But the Gospel is a preaching of Christ who forgives sins, gives grace, and justifies and saves sinners. There are commandments in the Gospel, but they are not the Gospel but expositions of the law, and they depend on the Gospel.”
Luther, M. (1998). Galatians. The Crossway classic commentaries (93–95). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
It imperative that Christians understand and distinguish the doctrines of justification and sanctification.
via Sola Scriptura
Do the Westminster Standards teach Merit? More importantly, do the Scriptures teach Merit? What is Merit? Did Christ merit anything by His work on earth? Was Adam, in God’s original arrangement with him, justified by works, or through faith? There are some who deny a meritorious arrangement with Adam, denying the existence of a “Covenant of Works.” Pastor Wes White tackes these questions and responds to the erroneous claims of the Joint Federal Vision Profession in this post:
Do the Westminster Standards Teach Merit?
In order to answer the question of whether the Westminster Standards teach merit, we must know what merit is. So, what is merit? Merit is defined in the dictionary as worth. As a verb, to merit something is to deserve something.
With that definition in mind, we can now consider whether the Westminster Standards teach merit. If you search the Westminster Standards, you will find that it does use the word “merits” in reference to Christ. Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 55 says that Christ appears in our nature before the Father in heaven “in the merit of his obedience and sacrifice on earth.” Thus, Christ’s obedience and sacrifice on earth was meritorious, and it is Christ’s will that the merit of His obedience and sacrifice would be “applied to all believers.”
You can read the rest of Pastor White’s excellent post here.
The Sovereign Logos 