Page:A Treatise of the Covenant of Grace (John Ball).djvu/239

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pravity; and they be not further from believing, then from desire to believe.

It is objected further, that Christ as he died to impetrate remission of sins for me in particular, is the object of justifying faith. The mercy of God reaching to the pardon of sin in and through Jesus Christ is the object of faith justifying, as it is proffered unto us in the word of life: but it is one thing to believe that mercy is to be had through the death of Christ, and that it is offered unto us in the Gospell, and we called to imbrace it, another to believe that Christ according to the compleate and full will of God, hath laid downe his life for us in particular to purchase for us both grace and glory. Proportionable to the perswasion a man hath of Gods willingnesse to be mercifull, is his perswasion of the sufficiency of Christs satisfaction: and proportionable to his perswasion that God is mercifull to him in the pardon of his sin, is his perswasion that Christ died for him in particular. Justifying faith is not without an apprehension of mercy in Christ to be obtained, but implieth not an apprehension of mercy reaching to the pardon of sin already obtained. It is not without an application of recumbency, reliance, or imbracing, which presupposeth the offer of mercy, in and through Jesus Christ to be received, but the application of particular perswasion, that Christ died for me in particular, as well as for any other, or hath purchased for me grace and glory, is not required in justifying faith. Some have affirmed, that faith whereby I believe that Christ died for me, is the foundation of faith whereby I believe in Christ: but I should desire better proof than their bare word for it, seeing the Scripture makes the mercifull offer of salvation in Christ to the burdened, hungry and thirsty, the ground of this affiance, and that perswasion (according to their positions) may be in good and bad, them that never shall be justified, neither will, nor can rest upon Christ for salvation. To believe that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour, and that salvation is offered to me in his name, is lesse then to believe in Christ for remission of sins; and in order of nature goeth before it. But to believe that according to the purpose of God Christ is my Redeemer, who hath purchased for me in particular grace and remission of sins and eternall redemption, and hath actually reconciled me unto God, this is the consequent of resting upon Christ for salvation, and cannot be believed according to the Scripture, unlesse a