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1. Those whom God effectually calls he also freely 1justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by 2pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as 3righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other 4evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness; but by imputing Christ’s active obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness, they 5receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.
2. Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the 6alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, 7but worketh by love.
3. Christ by his obedience and death did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did by the sacrifice of himself, in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them; make a proper, real, and full satisfaction 8to God’s justice on their behalf; yet inasmuch as he was given by the Father for them, and his obedience and satisfaction accepted in their stead, and both 9freely, not for anything in them; their justification is only of free grace, that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be 10glorified in the justification of sinners.
4. God did from all eternity decree to 11justify all the elect, and Christ did in the fulness of time die for their sins and rise 12again for their justification; nevertheless, they are not justified personally until the Holy Spirit doth in due time 13actually apply Christ unto them.
5. God doth continue to 14forgive the sins of those that are justified, and although they can never fall from the state of 15justification; yet they may by their sins fall under God’s 16Fatherly displeasure; and in that condition they have not usually the light of his countenance restored unto them until they 17humble themselves, confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.
6. The justification of believers under the Old Testament was in all these respects 18one and the same with the justification of believers under the New Testament.
- Romans 3:24, 8:30 ↩︎
- Romans 4:5,6,7,8; Ephesians 1:7 ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 1:30,31; Romans 5:17,18,19 ↩︎
- Philippians 3:8,9; Ephesians 2:8,9,10 ↩︎
- John 1:12; Romans 5:17 ↩︎
- Romans 3:28 ↩︎
- Galatians 5:6; James 2:17,22,26 ↩︎
- Hebrews 10:14; 1 Peter 1:18,19; Isaiah 53:5,6 ↩︎
- Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:21 ↩︎
- Romans 3:26; Ephesians 1:6,7, 2:7 ↩︎
- Galatians 3:8; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:6 ↩︎
- Romans 4:25 ↩︎
- Colossians 1:21,22; Titus 3:4,5,6,7 ↩︎
- Matthew 6:12; 1 John 1:7,9 ↩︎
- John 10:28 ↩︎
- Psalm 89:31,32,33 ↩︎
- Psalm 32:5, 51; Matthew 26:75 ↩︎
- Galatians 3:9; Romans 4:22,23,24 ↩︎