8. In the sermon on justification published nineteen, and again seven or eight years ago, I express the same thing in these words, p. 87. “In consideration of this, that the Son of God hath tasted death for every man, God hath now reconciled the world unto himself, not imputing to them their former trespasses. So that for the sake of his well-beloved Son, of what he hath done and suffered for us, God now vouchsafes on one only condition (which himself also enables us to perform) both to remit the punishment due to our sins, to re-instate us in his favour,and to restore our dead souls to spiritual life, as the earnest of life eternal.”
9. This is more largely and particularly expressed in the Treatise on Justification, which I published last year. “If we take the phrase of imputing Christ’s righteousness, for the bestowing (as it were) the righteousness of Christ, including his obedience, as well passive as active in the return of it; that is, in the privileges, blessings and benefits purchased by it: So a believer may be said to be justified, by the righteousness of Christ imputed. The meaning is, God justifies the believer, for the sake of Christ’s righteousness and not for any righteousness of his own. So Calvin (Instit. l. 2. c. 17.) ‘Christ by his obedience procured and merited for us grace or favour with God the Father.’ Again, ‘Christ by his obedience procured or purchased righteousness for us.’ And yet again: ‘All such expressions as these, That we are justified by the grace of God, that Christ is our righteousness, that righteousness was procured for us by the death and resurrection of Christ, import the same thing:’ Namely, that the righteousness of Christ, both his active and passive righteousness, is the meritorious cause of our justification, and have procured for us at God’s hand, that upon our believing, we should be accounted righteous by him.” p. 5.
10. But perhaps some will object, “Nay, but you affirm, that faith is imputed to us for righteousness.” St. Paul affirms this over and over;therefore I affirm it too. Faith is imputed for righteousness to every believer; namely, faith in the righteousness of Christ. But this is exactly the same thing, which has been said before. For by that expression, I mean neither more nor less than that we are justified by faith, not by works: Or that every believer is forgiven and accepted, merely for the sake of what Christ has done and suffered.
11. “But is not a believer, invested or cloathed with the righteousness of Christ?” Undoubtedly he is. And accordingly the words above recited, are the language of every believing heart.
“Jesu, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress.”
That is, for the sake of thy active and passive righteousness, I am forgiven and accepted of God.
“But must not we put off the filthy rags of our own righteousness, before we can put on the spotless righteousness of Christ?” Certainly we must; that is in plain terms, we must repent, before we can believe the gospel. We must be cut off from dependence upon ourselves, before we can truly depend upon Christ. We must cast away all confidence in our own righteousness, or we cannot have a true confidence in his. Till we are delivered from trusting in any thing that we do, we cannot throughly trust in whathe has done and suffered. First we receive the sentence of death in ourselves; then we trust in him that lived and died for us.
12. “But do not you believe inherent righteousness?” Yes, in its proper place: Not as the ground of our acceptance with God, but as the fruit of it: Not in the place of imputed righteousness, but as consequent upon it. That is, I believe God implants righteousness, in every one to whom he has imputed it. I believe Jesus Christ is made of God unto us sanctification, as well as righteousness: or, that God sanctifies, as well as justifies, all them that believe in him. They to whom the righteousness of Christ is imputed, are made righteous by the Spirit of Christ, are renewed in the image of God, after the likeness wherein they were created, in righteousness and true holiness.
13. “But do not you put faith in the room of Christ, or of his righteousness?” By no means. I take particular care, to put each of these in its proper place. The righteousness of Christ is the whole and sole foundation of all our hope. It is by faith that the Holy Ghost enables us, to build upon this foundation. God gives this faith. In that moment we are accepted of God: and yet, not for the sake of that faith, but of what Christ has done and suffered for us. You see, each of these has its proper place, and neither clashes with the other: We believe, we love; we endeavourto walk in all the commandments of the Lord blameless. Yet,