freely: Sikaιoúμεvo dopɛav, not brought easily, and with little labour to be righteous or honest, as some vainly imagine (Grot. in locum), but accepted freely with God, without the performance of the works of the law, whereby the Jews sought after righteousness. 2. The end on the part of God, is, the declaration of his righteousness. 3. The means procuring this end is, the blood of Christ: redemption by: Christ, and in his blood.

4. The means of communicating this effect on the part of God, is the setting forth Christ a propitiation: on our part, as to application, it is faith in his blood.'

As to the effect of our justification, it shall afterward be considered. The manner, or rise of it rather (for both may be denoted) on the part of God, is dopɛav, that is, freely: or as it is expounded in the next words, rý avrov xáρırı, ‘by his grace. Our redemption and the effects of it are free;' 1. On the part of God, in respect of his purpose and decree, which is called kλoyn xapıròs; Rom. xi. 5. His great design, and contrivance of the work of our salvation and deliverance. This he did according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace ;' Eph. i. 5, 6, according 'to his good pleasure which he had purposed in himself,' ver. 9. according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will;' ver. 11. And it is free in regard of the love, from whence Christ was sent, John iii. 16. which also is ascribed rỷ Xápırı Jɛov; Heb. ii. 9. and it is free in respect of us: we do not obtain it by the works of the law, Rom. iv. 6. neither can it be so attained, nor is that required of us; and free on our part, in that nothing of us is required in way of satisfaction, recompense, or ran'He spared not his Son, but with him freely gives us all things; Rom. viii. Sikaιoúμevol dopɛav, we are justified freely, that is, we are delivered from our bondage without any satisfaction made by us, or works performed by us, to attain it, God having freely designed this way of salvation, and sent Jesus Christ to do this work for us.

som.

'Ad justitiam vero perducuntur etiam sine labore qui ad minores virtutes, id est, philosophicas requiri solet fides enim ejus laboris compendium facit.” τῶν πόνων πωλοῦσιν ἡμῖν πάντα τ ̓ ἀγαθ' οἱ Θεόι. Grot. in loc.

They are brought to righteousness, without that labour that is required for lesser, even philosophical virtues. Faith makes an abridgement of the work.'

The πρurov εudos of the great man, in the whole interpretation of that epistle, as of others of sundry sorts besides himself, is, that to be justified, is to be brought to righteousness by the practice of virtue and honesty (which answers to that the Scripture calls sanctification) with as gross a shutting out of light, as can befall any man in the world. This, with that notion which he hath of faith, is the bottom of this interpretation. But,

2. Let him tell us freely, what instance he can give of this use of the word dopɛáv, which here he imposeth on us; that it should signify the facility of doing a thing. And withal, whether these words Sikaιoúμɛvoi Sopráv, denote an act of God, or of them that are justified? Whether being justified freely by his grace, be his free justifying of us, as to what is actively denoted, or our easy performance of the works of righteousness? That dopɛáv, in this place, should relate to our duties, and signify easily; and not to the act of God accepting us, and import freely, is such a violence offered to the Scripture, as nothing could have compelled the learned man to venture on, but pure necessity of maintaining the Socinian justification.

3. For the philosophical virtues, which the gods sold for labour, they were splendida peccata,' and no more.

As to the part of the words, Socinus himself was not so far out of the way, as the annotator; saith he, 'Justificati gratis, sensus est, partam nobis esse peccatorum nostrorum absolutionem (id enim ut scis quod ad nos attinet reipsa justificari est) non quidem per legis opera, quibus illam commeriti sumus, sed gratis per gratiam Dei.' De Servat. lib. 1. part. 2. cap. 2.

2. The end on the part of God, is ¿vdeížiç dikaιóσúvns, ‘the declaration of his righteousness;' dukatoσúvn, is properly God's justice as he is a judge. It is true 7D is often rendered by the seventy dialooúvn, and by us from thence, righteousness;' which signifies indeed benignity, kindness, and goodness and so mp3 which is righteousness,' is rendered by them sometimes λɛoç mercy,' and the circumstances of the place may sometimes require that signification of the word;

but firstly and properly, it is that property of God, whereby as a judge, he renders to every one according to their ways before him, rewarding those that obey him, and punishing transgressions. This I have elsewhere declared at large. Hence he is. pry Dow Psal. ix. 4. which as Paul speaks, 2 Tim. iv. 8, is, ó díkαιos Kρirns, the 'righteous judge,' so Rom. i. 32. 2 Thess. i, 6. Rev. xv. 4. so Isa. lix. 16. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him.' His righteousness sustained him in executing vengeance on the enemies of his church. This is the righteousness that God aimed to manifest, and to declare in our redemption by Christ: that he might be just, as the words follow; namely, that he might be known to be just and righteous, in taking such sore vengeance of sin, in the flesh of Jesus Christ his Son; Rom. viii. 3. Hence did God appear to be exceeding righteous, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. He declared to all the world, what was due to sin, and what must be expected by men, if they are not partakers of the redemption which is in the blood of Jesus Christ; Rom. viii. 3.

Grotius would have Sukatooúvn here to signify goodness' and 'bounty;' which, as we deny not, but that in some places in the Old Testament where it is used by the LXX, it doth, or may do; so we say here, that sense can have no place, which nowhere is direct and proper: for the thing intended by it in that sense, is expressed before in those words Sopeav Tỹ Xápiti avtov, and is not consistent with that, that follows, εἰς τὸ εἶται αὐτὸν δικαιον, which represents God, as he is, Sikalos Kρirns, as was spoken before.

Socinus goes another way: says he, In Christo, Deus ut ostenderet se veracem et fidelem esse, quod significant verba illa, justitiæ suæ,' &c. Referring it to God's righteousness of verity and fidelity, in fulfilling his promise of forgiveness of sins. But, says Grotius, righteousness cannot be here interpreted, de fide in promissis præstandis, quia hæc verba pertinent non ad Judæos tantum, sed ad Gentes etiam, quibus nulla promissio facta est.' 'Because Gentiles are spoken of, and not the Jews only, but to them there was no promise given.' A reason worthy the an

f Diatrib. de Justit. Div.

notations; as though the promise was not made to Abraham, that he should be heir of the world, and to all his seed, not only according to the flesh; and as though the learned man himself did not think the first promise to have been made, and always to have belonged to all and every man in the world. But yet neither will the sense of Socinus stand, for the reasons before given.

But how are these ends brought about, that we should be δικαιούμενοι δορεάν ; and yet there should be, ἐνδείξις δι καιοσύνης?

3. Ans. The means procuring all this, is the blood of Christ; it is, διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ‘by the redemption that is in Jesus Christ;' and how that redemption is wrought, he expresseth, when he shews how we are made partakers of it, διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι, through faith in his blood.' The redemption wrought and procured by the blood of Christ, is the procuring cause of all this. The causa πçonyovμévn, is the grace of God, of which before; the causа πρокатаρктIKỳ, is this blood of Christ; this redemption, as here, is called aroλórowoíç, Luke xxi. 28. Eph. i. 7. Col. i. 14. λúrpwois, Luke i. 68. John ii: 38. Heb. ix. 12. λúrpov, Matt. xx. 28. x. 45. d'vríλvrpov, 1 Tim. ii. 6. and in respect of the effect, púois Rom. iv. 24. xi. 26. Col. i. 13. 1 Thess. i. 10. This is the procuring cause, as I said, of the whole effect of God's free grace here mentioned; we are justified freely, because we have redemption by the blood of Christ, he obtained it for us by the price of his blood.

I rather abide on the former sense of λúrpov (from whence is arroλúrρwois) to be a price of redemption, than to interpret it by lustrum,' and so to refer it to the sacrifices of purification, which belong to another consideration of the death of Christ; and yet the consideration of the blood of Christ, as a sacrifice, hath place here also, as shall be discovered. This is that which is here asserted; we have forgiveness of sins by the intervention of the blood of Christ, obtaining redemption for us, which is that we aim to prove from this place.

Grotius gives this exposition of the words. Christus per obedientiam suam (maxime in morte) et preces ei accedentes, hoc a patre obtinuit, ne is humanum genus gravibus peccatis immersum desereret, atque obduraret; sed via

illis daret ad justitiam perveniendi per Christum : et liberaret, nempe a necessitate moriendi in peccatis, viam patefa ciendo per quam exire ista liceret.' Christ by his obe dience (especially in his death) and the prayers accompanying it, obtained this of his Father, that he should not forsake and harden mankind, drenched in grievous sins, but should give them a way of coming to righteousness by Jesus Christ, and should deliver them from a necessity of dying in their sin, by revealing a way whereby they might escape it.'

1. It is well it is granted, that the death of Christ respected God in the first place, and the obtaining somewhat of him, which the annotator's friends deny.

2. That the purchase of Christ was not for all mankind, that they might be delivered, but for the elect, that they should be delivered, has elsewhere been declared.

3. Christ by his death, did not obtain of his Father, that he should reveal or appoint that way of obtaining deliverance and salvation, which by him we have. This, as the giving of Christ himself, was of the free grace and love of God; nor is the appointment of the way of salvation, according to the covenant of grace, any where assigned to the death of Christ; but to the love of God, sending his Son, and appointing him to be a mediator; though the good things of the covenant be purchased by him.

4. This is all the effect here assigned to the bloodshedding of Jesus Christ; this is the redemption we have thereby. He obtained of his Father, that a better way of coming to righteousness, than that of the law, or that of philosophy, might by declared to us.' The mystery of the whole is; Christ by his obedience to God, obtained this, that himself should be exalted to give a new law, and teach a new doctrine, in obedience whereunto we might come to be righ teous which must needs be an excellent explication of these words, 'we have redemption by his blood;' which plainly express the price he paid for us, and the effect that ensued thereon.

Socinus goes another way: says he,

"The intervention of the blood of Christ, though it

* Interventus sanguinis Christi, licet Deum ad liberationem hanc a peccatorum nostrorum pœna nobis concedendum movere non potuerit, movit tamen nos ad eam nobis oblatam accipiendam, et Christo fidem habendam. Socin. ubi sup.