Chapter 16: The Truth Further Confirmed by Testimonies of Scripture, Jeremiah 23:6

THat which we now proceed unto, is the consideration of those Express testimonies of scripture which are given unto the truth pleaded for, and especially of those places where the doctrine of the justification of sinners is expressly and designedly handled. From them it is, that we must learn the truth, and into them must our faith be resolved, unto whose authority all the arguings and objections of men must give place. By them is more light conveyed into the understandings of believers, than by the most subtle Disputations. And it is a thing not without scandal, to see among protestants whole books written about justification, wherein scarce one testimony of scripture is produced, unless it be to find out Evasions from the force of them. And in particular, whereas the apostle Paul has most fully and expressly (as he had the greatest occasion so to do) declared and vindicated the doctrine of Evangelical justification, not a few in what they write about it, are so far from declaring their Thoughts and faith concerning it, out of his Writings, as that they begin to reflect upon them as obscure, and such as give occasion unto dangerous mistakes; and unless, as was said, to answer and except against them upon their own corrupt principles, seldom or never make mention of them. As though we were grown wiser than he, or that Spirit whereby he was inspired, guided, acted in all that he wrote; But there can be nothing more Alien from the genius of Christian religion, than for us not to endeavour humbly to learn the Mystery of the grace of God, herein, in the declaration of it made by him. But the foundation of God stands sure, what course soever men shall be pleased to take into their profession of religion.

For the testimonies which I shall produce and insist upon, I desire the reader to observe, (1.) That they are but some of the many that might be pleaded unto the same purpose. (2.) That those which have been, or yet shall be alledged on particular occasions, I shall wholly omit; and such are most of them that are given unto this truth in the Old testament. (3.) That in the Exposition of them, I shall with what diligence I can attend; (1.) Unto the Analogy of faith, that is the manifest scope and design of the Revelation of the mind and will of God in the scripture. And that this is to exalt the Freedom and riches of his own grace, the glory and excellency of Christ, and his mediation, to discover the woful, lost, forlorn condition of man by sin, to debase and depress every thing that is in and of our selves, as to the attaining life, righteousness and salvation, cannot be denied by any who have their senses exercised in the scriptures. (2.) Unto the Experience of them that do believe, with the condition of them who seek after justification by Jesus Christ. In other things I hope the best helps and rules of the interpretation of the scripture shall not be neglected.

There is weight in this case deservedly laid on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, as promised and given unto us; namely, the Lord our righteousness, Jeremiah 23:6. As the name Jehovah, being given and ascribed unto him, is a full indication of his Divine person; so the addition of his being our righteousness, sufficiently declares, that in, and by him alone, we have righteousness, or are made righteous. So was he typed by Melchisedec, as first, the king of righteousness, then the king of peace, Hebrews 7:2. For by his righteousness alone have we peace with God. Some of the socinians would evade this testimony, by observing, that righteousness in the Old testament is used sometimes for Benignity, Kindness and mercy, and so they suppose it may be here. But the most of them, avoiding the palpable absurdity of this imagination, refer it to the righteousness of God in deliverance, and vindication of his people. So Brennius briefly, Ita vocatur quia Dominus per manum ejus judicium & justitiam faciet Israeli. But these are evasions of bold men, who care not, so they may say somewhat, whether what they say, be agreeable to the Analogy of faith, or the plain words of the scripture. Bellarmine who was more wary to give some appearance of truth unto his answers, first, gives other reasons why he is called the Lord our righteousness; and then, whether unawares, or over-powered by the evidence of truth, grants that sense of the words which contains the whole of the cause we plead for. Christ, he says, may be called the Lord our righteousness, because he is the efficient cause of our righteousness. As God is said to be our strength and salvation. Again, Christ is said to be our righteousness; as he is our wisdom, our redemption and our peace; because he has redeemed us, and makes us wise and righteous, and reconcils us unto God: And other reasons of the same nature are added by others. But not trusting to these Expositions of the words, he adds, Deinde dicitur Christus justitia nostra, quoniam satisfecit patri pro nobis, & eam satisfactionem ita nobis donat & communicat, cum nos justificat, ut nostra satisfactio & justitia dici possit. And afterwards, Hoc modo non esset absurdum, si quis diceret nobis imputari Christi justitiam & merita, cum nobis donantur & applicantur, ac si nos ipsi Deo satisfecissemus. De justificat, lib. 2. cap. 10. Christ is said to be our righteousness because he has made satisfaction for us to the father; and does so give and communicate that satisfaction unto us, when he justifies us, that it may be said to be our satisfaction, and righteousness. And in this sense it would not be absurd if any one should say, that the righteousness of Christ and his merits are imputed unto us, as if we our selves had satisfied God. In this sense we say, that Christ is the Lord our righteousness; nor is there any thing of importance in the whole doctrine of justification that we own, which is not here granted by the Cardinal; and that in terms which some among our selves scruple and oppose. I shall therefore look a little further into this testimony which has wrested so eminent a confession of the truth, from so great an Adversary. Behold, the dayes come, says the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous branch, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness, verse 5, 6. It is confessed among Christians that this is an illustrious Renovation of the first promise, concerning the incarnation of the Son of God, and our salvation by him. This promise was first given when we had lost our Original righteousness, and were considered only as those who had sinned and come short of the glory of God. In this estate a righteousness was absolutely necessary that we might be again accepted with God; for without a righteousness, yea, that which is perfect and compleat, we never were so, nor ever can be so. In this estate it is promised that he shall be our righteousness, or, as the apostle expresss it, the end of the law for righteousness to them that do believe. That he is so, there can be no question, the whole inquiry is, how he is so? This, say the most Sober and Modest of our Adversaries, because he is the efficient cause of our righteousness, that is, of our personal inherent righteousness. But this righteousness may be considered either in it self, as it is an effect of Gods grace, and so it is good and holy, although it be not perfect and compleat; or it may be considered as it is ours, inherent in us, accompanied with the remaining defilements of our nature; In that respect, as this righteousness is ours, the prophet affirms, that (in the sight of God) we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6. comprizs our whole personal, inherent righteousness. And the Lord Christ cannot from hence be denominated ; The Lord our righteousness, seeing it is all as filthy rags. It must therefore be a righteousness of another sort whence this denomination is taken, and on the account whereof this name is given him. Wherefore he is our righteousness, as all our righteousnesses are in him. So the church which confesss all her own Righteousnesses to be filthy rags, says, in the Lord have I righteousness, Isaiah 45:24. which is expounded of Christ by the apostle, Romans 14:11. only in the Lord are my righteousnesses; which two places the apostle expresss, Philippians 3:9. That I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law (in this case as filthy rags) but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Hence it is added, in the Lord shall the seed of Israel be justified, verse 25. namely, because he is, in what he is, in what he was, and did, as given unto and for us, our righteousness, and our righteousness is all in him; which totally excludes our own personal inherent righteousness from any interest in our justification, and ascribes it wholly unto the righteousness of Christ. And thus is that Emphatical Expression of the Psalmist, I will go in the strength of the Lord God; (for as unto holiness and obedience, all our spiritual strength is from him alone) and I will make mention Psalm 71:16. Of your righteousness, of yours only; The redoubling of the affix excludes all confidence and trusting in any thing but the righteousness of God alone. For this the apostle affirms to be the design of God, in making Christ to be righteousness unto us, namely that no flesh should glory in his presence, but that he that gloris, should glory in the Lord, 1 Corinthians 1:29, 30, 31. For it is by faith alone making mention, as unto our justification, of the righteousness of God, of his righteousness only, that excludes all boasting, Romans 3:27. And, besides what shall be further pleaded from particular testimonies, the scripture does eminently declare how he is the Lord our righteousness, namely, in that he makes an end of sin and reconciliation for iniquity, and brings in everlasting righteousness, Daniel 9:24. For by these things is our justification compleated; namely in satisfaction made for sin, the pardon of it in our reconciliation unto God, and the providing for us an everlasting righteousness. Therefore is he the Lord our righteousness, and so rightly called. Wherefore seeing we had lost Original righteousness, and had none of our own remaining, and stood in need of a perfect, compleat righteousness to procure our acceptance with God, and such a one as might exclude all occasion of boasting of any thing in our selves, the Lord Christ being given and made unto us, the Lord our righteousness, in whom we have all our righteousness, our own, as it is ours, being as filthy rags in the sight of God, and this by making an end of sin, and reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in everlasting righteousness. It is by his righteousness, by his only, that we are justified in the sight of God, and do glory. This is the substance of what, in this case, we plead for; and thus it is delivered in the scripture, in a way bringing more light and Spiritual sense into the minds of believers, than those Philosophical expressions, and distinctions, which vaunt themselves with a pretence of propriety, and accuracy.

We now turn to the explicit scriptural testimonies that confirm the truth we are defending — especially those passages where the doctrine of the justification of sinners is expressly and deliberately addressed. These are where we must learn the truth, and into these our faith must be anchored. Their authority must override all human arguments and objections. They convey more light to the minds of believers than the most sophisticated philosophical disputations. It is truly troubling to see Protestant authors writing entire books about justification in which hardly a single scriptural testimony is produced — except to find ways to escape its force. In particular, the apostle Paul has most fully and explicitly declared and defended the doctrine of evangelical justification — as he had the greatest occasion to do. Yet not a few writers on this subject are so far from drawing their thoughts and convictions out of his writings that they have begun to dismiss those writings as obscure and prone to dangerous misunderstanding. They rarely or never make use of them, except — as has been said — to deflect and object against them on the basis of their own mistaken principles. It is as though we have grown wiser than the apostle, or wiser than the Spirit by whom he was inspired in everything he wrote. But nothing is more contrary to the spirit of Christian faith than refusing to learn humbly from Paul's declaration of the mystery of God's grace. Yet the foundation of God stands firm, whatever course people choose to take in their profession of religion.

Regarding the testimonies I will produce and examine, I ask the reader to note three things. First, these are only a portion of the many that could be cited to the same purpose. Second, those already cited on particular occasions throughout this work, and most of the Old Testament testimonies given to this truth, I will largely omit. Third, in expounding these passages, I will attend as carefully as I can, first, to the analogy of faith — that is, the clear scope and design of God's revelation of His mind and will in Scripture. And that this design is to exalt the freedom and riches of God's own grace, the glory and excellence of Christ and His mediation, and to reveal the pitiable, lost, and ruined condition of man through sin — debasing and humbling everything that is in us and of us with respect to attaining life, righteousness, and salvation — this cannot be denied by anyone whose senses have been trained in the Scriptures. Second, I will attend to the experience of those who believe and the condition of those who seek justification through Jesus Christ. In other matters, I hope the best tools and principles of scriptural interpretation will not be neglected.

Deserving particular weight in this discussion is the name given to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as He was promised and given to us: "The Lord our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:6). Just as the name Jehovah, attributed to Him, is a full declaration of His divine person, so the addition "our righteousness" plainly declares that in and through Him alone we have righteousness, or are made righteous. This is what Melchizedek foreshadowed — described first as king of righteousness, and then as king of peace (Hebrews 7:2), for it is through His righteousness alone that we have peace with God. Some Socinians try to evade this testimony by noting that "righteousness" in the Old Testament sometimes means kindness, goodness, or mercy, and they suggest it may carry that meaning here. But most of them, recognizing the obvious weakness of that interpretation, refer it to the righteousness of God in delivering and vindicating His people. As Brennius briefly states: "He is so called because through His hand the Lord will execute justice and righteousness for Israel." But these are the evasions of bold men who care nothing for whether what they say agrees with the analogy of faith or the plain words of Scripture, as long as they can say something. Bellarmine, who was more careful to give his answers at least an appearance of truth, first offers other reasons why Christ is called "the Lord our righteousness" — but then, whether unwittingly or overpowered by the force of the evidence, grants the very interpretation that contains everything we are arguing for. Christ, he says, may be called the Lord our righteousness because He is the efficient cause of our righteousness, as God is said to be our strength and salvation. Again, Christ is said to be our righteousness as He is our wisdom, our redemption, and our peace — because He has redeemed us and makes us wise and righteous and reconciles us to God. Others add reasons of the same kind. But not trusting these explanations, Bellarmine adds: "Furthermore, Christ is called our righteousness because He has made satisfaction to the Father for us, and so gives and communicates that satisfaction to us when He justifies us, that it may be called our satisfaction and our righteousness." And further: "In this sense it would not be absurd if one were to say that the righteousness and merits of Christ are imputed to us, as if we ourselves had given satisfaction to God" (de Justificat., lib. 2, cap. 10). This is the sense in which we say that Christ is the Lord our righteousness. And there is nothing of importance in the whole doctrine of justification that we affirm which is not here granted by the Cardinal — in terms that some among us today scruple at and reject. I will therefore look more carefully at this testimony, which has wrested so remarkable a confession of the truth from so great an opponent. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and this is His name by which He will be called, 'The Lord our righteousness'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Christians universally acknowledge this as an illustrious renewal of the first promise concerning the incarnation of the Son of God and our salvation through Him. This promise was first given when we had lost our original righteousness and stood before God only as those who had sinned and fallen short of His glory. In that condition, a righteousness was absolutely necessary for us to be accepted by God again — for without a righteousness, indeed a perfect and complete righteousness, we never were accepted and never can be. In that condition it is promised that He will be our righteousness — or, as the apostle puts it, the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe. That He is our righteousness is beyond question; the whole inquiry is how He is so. The most measured of our opponents say it is because He is the efficient cause of our righteousness — that is, our personal, inherent righteousness. But this righteousness may be considered in two ways. Considered in itself as an effect of God's grace, it is good and holy — though not perfect and complete. Considered as ours, inherent in us and accompanied by the remaining defilements of our nature, the prophet's word applies: "we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment" (Isaiah 64:6) — which covers our entire personal, inherent righteousness. And the Lord Christ cannot be called "the Lord our righteousness" on the basis of a righteousness that is all as filthy rags. The name must be taken from a righteousness of a different kind. Therefore He is our righteousness in this sense: all our righteousness is in Him. So the church, confessing that all her own righteousnesses are filthy rags, says: "In the Lord I have righteousness" (Isaiah 45:24) — expounded of Christ by the apostle in Romans 14:11. "Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength." The apostle expresses both of these in Philippians 3:9: "that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law" — which in this case is as filthy rags — "but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith." To this Isaiah adds: "In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be justified and will glory" (Isaiah 45:25) — because He is, in what He is and what He did and suffered as given for us, our righteousness. All our righteousness is in Him, which totally excludes our personal inherent righteousness from any role in our justification and ascribes it wholly to the righteousness of Christ. This is the force of the Psalmist's emphatic words: "I will go in the strength of the Lord God" — for as to holiness and obedience, all our spiritual strength comes from Him alone — "and I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only" (Psalm 71:16). The repeated emphasis of "Yours only" excludes all confidence in anything but God's righteousness alone. This, the apostle affirms, is God's very purpose in making Christ to be righteousness for us — "that no man may boast before God, but let him who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:29-31). For it is faith alone — making mention, in the matter of justification, of the righteousness of God and of His righteousness only — that excludes all boasting (Romans 3:27). Beyond what will be pressed from individual testimonies, Scripture eminently declares how He is the Lord our righteousness — namely, in that He makes an end of sin and makes atonement for iniquity, and brings in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). For by these things our justification is completed: by satisfaction made for sin, by its pardon in our reconciliation to God, and by the provision for us of an everlasting righteousness. Therefore He is rightly called the Lord our righteousness. Since we had lost original righteousness, and had none of our own remaining, and stood in need of a perfect and complete righteousness to procure our acceptance with God — one that would exclude all grounds for boasting in ourselves — the Lord Christ was given and made to us as the Lord our righteousness. In Him we have all our righteousness. Our own, as it belongs to us, is as filthy rags in God's sight. His righteousness — and His alone — is that by which we are justified in God's sight and may glory. This is the substance of what we are contending for, and it is presented in Scripture in a way that brings more light and spiritual understanding to the minds of believers than all the philosophical expressions and distinctions that vaunt themselves as precise and rigorous.