"Moreover," says he, "in Job himself it is said: ' And he maintained the miracle of a true man.' ^ Again we read in Solomon, touching wisdom: ' Men that are liars cannot remember her, but men of truth sliall be found in her.' ** Again in the Apocalypse: ' And in their rriouth was found no guile, for they are without fault.' " '' To all these statements we reply with a reminder to our opponents, of how a man may be called true, through the grace and truth of God, who is in himself without doubt a liar. Whence it is said: " Every man is a liar." ^ As for the passage also which he has quoted in reference to Wisdom, when it is said, " Men of truth shall be found in her," we must observe that it is undoubtedly not " in her,'' but /// themselves that men shall be found liars. Just as in another passage: " Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord," '° — when he said, " Ye were darkness," he did not add, " in the Lord; " but, after saying, " Ye are now light," he expressly added the phrase, "in the Lord." for they could not possibly be " light" in themselves; in order that " he who glorieth may glory in the Lord." " The " faultless " ones, indeed, in the Apocalypse, are so called because " no guile was found in their mouth." 9 They did not say they had no sin: if they had said this, they would deceive themselves, and the truth would not be in them; '^ and if the truth were not in them, guile and untruth would be found in their mouth.
If, however, to avoid envy, they said they were not without sin, although they were sinless, then this very insincerity would be a lie, and the character given of them would be untrue: " In their mouth was found no guile." Hence indeed " they are without fault; " for as they have I70 [Chap. 31.
forgiven those who have done them wrong, so are they purified by God's forgiveness of themselves. Observe now how we have to the best of our power explained in what sense the quotations he has in his own behalf advanced ought | to be understood. But how the passage, " Every man is a liar," is to be interpreted, he on his part has altogether omitted to explain; nor is an explanation within his power, without a correction of the error which makes him believe that man can be true without the help of God's grace, and merely by virtue of his own free will.
CH.\P. XIII. (31.) THE THIRD P.ASSAGE. IT IS ONE THIXG TO DEPART, AND ANOTHER THING TO HAVE DEPARTED, FROM ALL SIN. "THERE IS NONE THAT DOETH GOOD," — OF WHOM THIS IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
He has likewise propounded another question, as we shall proceed to show, but has failed to solve it; nay, he has rather rendered it more difficult, by first stating the testimony that had been quoted against him: " There is none that doeth good, no, not one; " ' and then resorting to seemingly contrary passages to show that there are persons who do good. This he succeeded, no doubt, in doing. It is, however, one thing for a man not to do good, and another thing not to be without sin, although he at the same time may do many good things. The passages, therefore, which he adduces are not really contrary to the statement that no person is without sm in this life. He does not, for his own part, explain in what sense it is declared that " there is none that doeth good, no, not one." These are his words: " Holy David indeed says, ' Hope thou in the Lord and be doing good.' "^ But this is a precept, and not an accomplished fact; and such a precept as is never kept by those of whom it is Slid, " There is none that doeth good, no, not one." He adds: " Holy Tobit also said, ' Fear not, my son, that we have to endure poverty; we shall have many blessings if we fear God, and depart from all sin, and do that which is good.' " 3 Most true indeed it is, that man shall have many blessings when he shall have departed from all sin. Then no evil shall betide him; nor shall he have need of the prayer, " Deliver us from evil." ■♦ Although even now every man who progresses, advancing ever with an upright purpose, departs from all sin, and becomes further removed from it as he approaches nearer to the fulness and perfection of the righteous state; because even concupiscence itself, which is sin dwelling in our flesh, never ceases to diminish in those who are making progress, although it still remains in their mortal ' Ps. xiv. 3. * Matt vi 13.
2 Ps. xxxvii. 3.
3 Tobit iv. 21.
members. It is one thing, therefore, to depart from all sin, — a process which is even now in operation, — and another thing to have departed from all sin, which shall happen in the state of future perfection. But still, even he who has departed already from evil, and is continuing to do SO, must be allowed to be a doer of good. How then is it said, in the passage which he has quoted and left unsolved, "There is none that doeth good, no, not one," unless that the Psalmist there censures some one nation, amongst whom there was not a man that did good, wishing to remain " children of men," and not sons of God, by whose grace man becomes good, in order to do good? For we must suppose the Psalmist here to mean that " good " which he describes in the context, saying, " God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God." 5 Such good then as this, seeking after God, there was not a man found who pursued it, no, not one; but this was in that class of men which is predestinated to destruction.'^ It was upon such that God looked down in His foreknowledge, and passed sentence.
CHAP. XIV. (32.) THE FOURTH PASSAGE. IN WHAT SENSE GOD ONLY IS GOOD. WITH GOD TO BE GOOD.AND TO BE HIMSELF ARE THE SAME THING.
" They likewise," says he, " quote what the Saviour says: ' Why callest thou me good? There is none good save one, that is, God?' " 7 This statement, however, he makes no attempt whatever to explain; all he does is to oppose to it sundry other passages which seem to contradict it, which he adduces to show that man, too, is good. Here are his remarks: " We must answer this text with another, in which the same Lord says, ' A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things.' ^ And again: ' He maketh His sun to rise on the good and on the evil.' 9 Then in another passage it is wTitten, ' For the good things are created from the beginning; ' '° and yet again, 'They that are good shall dwell in the land.' " " Now to all this we must say in answer, that the passages in question must be understood in the same sense as the former one, " There is none good, save one, that is, God." Either because all created things, although God made them very S Ps. xiv. 2.
S Ps. xiv. 2.
'' On this passage Fulgenlius remarks {Ad Moui»iitm, i. 5): " In no other sense do 1 suppose that passage of St. Aiigustin should be taken, in which he affirms that there are certain persons predestinated to destruction, than in regard to their punishment, not their sin; not to the evil which they unrighteously commit, but to the punishment which they shall righteously suffer; not to the sin on account of w hioh they either do not receive, or else lose, the benefit of the first resurrection, but to the retribution which their own personal miquity evilly incurs, and the divine justice righteously inflicts."
Chap. 34.]
good, are yet, when compared with their Creator, not good, being in fact incapable of any comparison with Him. For in a transcendent, and yet very proper sense, He said oi' Himself, " I AM THAT I AM." ' The Statement therefore before us, " None is good save one, that is, God," is used in some such way as that which is said of John, " He was not that light; " - although the Lord calls him " a lamp," ^ just as He says to His disciples: " Ye are the light of the world:.., neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel." ■♦ Still, in comparison with that light which is " the true lii^ht which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," s he was not light. Or else, because the very sons of God even, when compared with themselves as they shall hereafter become in their eternal perfection, are good in such a way that they still remain also evil. Although I should not have dared to say this of them (for who would be so bold as to call them evil who have God for their Father?) unless the Lord had Himself said: " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? " ^ Of course, by applying to them the words, " your Father," He proved that they were already sons of God; and yet at the same time He did not hesitate to say that they were " evil." Your author, however, does not explain to us how they are good, whilst yet " there is none good save one, that is, God." Accordingly the man who asked " what good thing he was to do,"? was admonished to seek Him '^ by whose grace he might be good; to whom also /o be good'x'a nothing else than to be Himself, because He is unchangeably good, and cannot be evil at all.
(33.) THE FIFTH PASSAGE. 9 "This," says he, "is another text of theirs: *Who will boast that he has a pure heart?' " '° And then he answered this with several passages, wishing to show that there can be in man a pure heart. But he omits to inform us how the passage which he reported as quoted against himself must be taken, so as to prevent Holy Scripture seeming to be opposed to itself in this text, and in the passages by which he makes his answer. We for our part indeed tell him, in answer, that the clause, " Who will boast that he has a pure heart?" is a suitable sequel to the preceding sentence, "whenever a righteous king sits upon the throne." " For how great so- 3 John V. 35: I" hicernam," not " lux: " as also in the Dies free It IS s.tIiI of John, iwii iux iste, i,ed lucernam," in allusion lo these passages. — W. ] •° Prov. XX. 9. II Piov. XX. 8.
ever a man's righteousness may be, lie ought to reflect and think, lest there should be found sometliing blameworthy, which has escaped indeed his own notice, when that righteous King shall sit upon His throne, whose cognizance no sins can possibly escape, not even those of which it is said, " Who understandeth his transgressions? " '^ " When, therefore, the righteous King shall sit upon His throne,...who will boast that he has a pure heart? or who will boldly say that he is pure from sin?"'^ Except perhaps those who wish to boast of their own righteousness, and not glory in the mercy of the Judge Himself.
CHAP. XV. (34.) THE OPPOSING PASSAGES.
And yet the passages are true which he goes on to adduce by way of answer, saying: " The Saviour in the gospel declares, ' Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.' '** David also says, ' Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is innocent in his hands, and pure in I his heart; ' '5 and again in another passage, ' Do ( good, O Lord, unto those that be good and upi right in heart.' '"^ So also in Solomon: ' Riches are good unto him that hath no sin on his conscience; ' '7 and again in the same book, ' Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from wickedness.' '^ So in tlie Epistle of John, ' If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God; and whatsoever we ask, we shall receive of Him.' " "^ For all this is accomplished by the will, by the exercise of faith, hope, and love; by keeping under the body; by doing alms; by forgiving injuries; by earnest prayer; by supplicating for strength to advance in our course; by sincerely sa\ing, us, as we also forgive others," and us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." ^° By this process, it is certainly brought about that our heart is cleansed, and all our sin taken away; and what the righteous King, when sitting on His throne, shall find concealed in the heart and uncleansed as yet, shall be remitted by His mercy, so that the whole shall be rendered sound and cleansed for seeing God.
For " he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy: yet mercy triumpheth against judgment."^' If it were not so, what hope could any of us have? " Wlien, indeed, the righteous King shall sit upon His throne, who shall boast tliat he hath a pure heart, or who shall boldly say that he is pure from sin? " Then, however, through His mercy shall the righteous, being by that time fully and perfectly cleansed, " Jas. ii. 13.
shine forth Hke the glorious sun in the kingdom of their Father. ' (35.) THE CHURCH WILL BE WITHOUT SPOT AND WRINKLE AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
Then shall the Church realize, fully and perfectly, the condition of "not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," ^ because then also will it in a real sense be glorious. For uiasmuch as he added the epithet " glorious," when he said, " That He might present the Church to Himself, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," he signified sufficiently when the Church will be without spot, or wrinkle, or anything of this kind, — then of course when it shall be glorious. Because it is not so much when the Church is involved in so many evils, or amidst such offences, and in so great a mixture of very evil men, and amidst the heavy reproaches of the ungodly, that we ought to say that it is glorious, because kings serve it, — a fact which only produces a more perilous and a sorer temptation; — but then shall it rather be glorious, when that event shall come to pass of which the apostle also speaks in the words, " When Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." 3 For since the Lord Himself, in that form of a servant by which He united Himself as Mediator to the Church, was not glorified except by the glory of His resurrection (whence it is said, "The Spirit was not yet given, because Christ was not yet glorified " '»), how shall His Church be described as glorious, before ■ its resurrection? He cleanses it, therefore, now " by the laver of the water in the word," s washing away its past sins, and driving off from it tJie dominion of wicked angels; but then by bringing all its healthy powers to perfection, He makes it meet for that glorious state, where it shall shine without a spot or wrinkle. For " whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified."*^ It was under this mystery, as I suppose, that that was spoken, " Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be consummated," or i:)erfected.7 For He said this in the person of His body, which is His Church, putting days for distinct and appointed periods, which He also signified in " the third day " in His resurrection.
(36.) THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UPRIGHT IN HEART AND THE CLEAN IN HEART.
I suppose, too, that there is a difference between one who is upright in heart and one who is clean in heart. A nian is upright in heart ■ Matt. xiii. 43. < John VII. 39, ' Luke xiii. 32.
3 Col. iii. 4. * Rom. viii. 30.
when he " reaches forward to those things which are before, forgetting those things which are behind," '^ so as to arrive in a right course, that is, with right faith and purpose, at the perfection where he may dwell clean and pure in heart. Thus, in the psalm, the conditions ought to be severally bestowed on each separate character, where it is said, " Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is innocent in his hands, and clean in his heart." 9 He shall ascend, innocent in his hands, and stand, clean in his heart, — the one state in present operation, the other in its consummation. And of them should rather be understood that which is written: " Riches are good unto him that hath no sin on his conscience." '° Then indeed shall accrue the good, or true riches, when all poverty shall have passed away; in other words, when all infirmity shall have been removed. A man may now indeed " leave off from sin," when in his onward course he departs from it, and is renewed day by day; and he may " order his hands," and direct them to works of mercy, and " cleanse his heart from all wickedness," " — he may be so merciful that what remains may be forgiven him by free pardon. This indeed is the sound and suitable meaning, without any vain and empty boasting, of that which St. John said: " If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we shall receive of Him." '^ The warning which he clearly has addressed to us in this passage, is to beware lest our heart should reproach us in our very prayers and petitions; that is to say, lest, when we happen to resort to this prayer, and say, " Forgive us, even as we ourselves forgive," we should have to feel compunction for not doing what we say, or should even lose boldness to utter what we fail to do, and thereby forfeit the confidence of faithful aiid earnest prayer.
CHAP. XVI. (37.) THE SIXTH PASSAGE.
He has also adduced this passage of Scripture, which is very commonly quoted against his party " For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." '^ And he makes a pretence of answering it by other passages, — how, " the Lord says concerning holy Job, ' Hast thou considered my servant Job? For there iS' none like him upon earth, a man who is blameless, true, a worshipper of God, and abstaining from every evil thing.' " "^ On this passage we have already made some remarks. '5 But he has not even attempted to show us how, on the one '' Ecchis. xxxviii. 10.
'3 Eccles. vii. 20.
'5 See above, ch. xii. (29).
Chap. 39.]
17: hand, Job was absolutely sinless upon earth, — if the words are to bear such a sense; and, on tlie other hand, how that can be true which he lias admitted to be in the Scripture, " There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." ' CHAP. XVII. ($8.) THE SEVENTH PASS.AGE. WHO MAY BE CALLED IMMACULATE. HOW IT IS THAT IN god's sight no man is JUSTIFIED.
" They also, says he, " quote the text: ' For in thy sight shall no man living be justified.' " ^ And his affected answer to this passage amounts to nothing else than the showing how texts of Ifoly Scripture seem to clash with one another, whereas it is our duty rather to demonstrate their agreement. These are his words: " We must confront them with this answer, from the testimony of the evangelist concerning holy Zacharias and Elisabeth, when he says, ' And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.' " ^ Now both these righteous persons had, of course, read amongst these very commandments the method of cleansing their own sins. For, according to what is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews of " every high priest taken from among men," * Zacharias used no doubt to offer sacrifices even for his own sins. The meaning, however, of the phrase " blameless''' which is applied to him, we have already, as I suppose, sufficiently explained. s " And," he adds, " the blessed apostle says, ' That we should be holy, and without blame before Him.' " "^ This, according to him, is said that we should be so, if those persons are to be understood by " blameless " who are altogether without sin. If, however, they are " blameless " who are without blame or censure, then it is impossible for us to deny that there have been, and still are, such persons even in this present life; for it does not follow that a man is without sin because he has not a blot of accusation, i Accordingly the apostle, when selecting ministers I for ordination, does not say, " If any be sinless," ■ for he would be unable to find any such; but \ he says, " If any be without accusation," ' for ' such, of course, he would be able to find. But our opponent does not tell us how, in accord- ' ance with his views, we ought to understand the scripture, " For in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." ^ The meaning of these words is ])lain enough, receiving as it does additional light tVom the preceding clause: " Enter not," says the Psalmist, " into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be ^ Heb. V. I. 5 See above, ch. xi. (23).
justified." It is judgment which he fears, therefore he desires that mercy which triumphs over judgment.'^ For the meaning of the prayer, " Fhitcr not into judgment with Thy servant," is this: "Judge me not according to Thyself," who art without sin; " for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." This without doubt is understood as spoken of the present life, v.hilst the predicate " shall not be justified " has reference to that perfect state of righteousness which belongs not to this life.
chap. X\TII. (39.) THE EIGHTH P-i^SSAGE. IN WHAT SENSE HE IS SAID NOT TO SIN WHO IS BORN OF GOD. IN WHAT WAY HE WHO SINS SHALL NOT SEE NOR KNOW GOD.
" They also quote," says he, " this passage, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' " ^ And this very clear testimony he has endeavoured to meet with apparently contradictory texts, saymg thus: " The same St. John in this very epistle says, ' This, however, brethren, I say, that ye sin not. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin.' '° Also elsewhere: ' Whosoever is born of God sinneth not; because his being born of God preserveth him, and the evil one toucheth him not.' " And again in another passage, when speaking of the Saviour, he says: ' Since He was manifested to take away sins, whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him.' '^ And yet again: ' Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope towards Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.' " '3 And yet, notwithstanding the truth of all these passages, that also is true whicli he has adduced, without, however, offering any explanation of it: '• If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 9 Now it follows from the whole of this, that in so far as we are born of God we abide in Him who appeared to take away sins, that is, in Christ, and sin not, — which is sim|)ly that " the inward man is renewed day by day;"'-* but in so far as we are born of that man " through whom sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men," 's we are not without sin. because we are not as yet free from his infirmity, until, by that renewal which takes place from day to day (for 1/4 [Chap. 40.
it is in accordance with this that we were born of God), that infirmity shall be wholly repaired, wherein we were born from the first man, and in which we are not without sin. While the remains of this infirmity abide in our inward man, however much they may be daily lessened in those who are advancing, " we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, if we say that we have no sin." Now, however true it is that " whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, nor known Him " ' since with that vision and knowledge, which shall be realized in actual sight, no one can in this life see and know Him; yet with that vision and knowledge which come of faith, there may be many who commit sin, — even apostates themselves, — who still have believed in Him some time or other; so that of none of these could it be said, according to the vision and knowledge which as yet come of feith, that he has neither seen Him nor known Him. But I suppose it ought to be understood that it is the renewal which awaits perfection that sees and knows Him; whereas the infirmity which is destined to waste and ruin neither sees nor knows Him. And it is owing to the remains of this infirmity, of whatever amount, which remain firm in our inward man, that " we deceive ourselves, and have not the truth in us, when we say that we have no sin." Altliough, then, by the grace of renovation " we are the sons of God," yet by reason of the remains of infirmity within us " it doth not appear what we shall be; only we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Then there shall be no more sin, because no infirmity shall any longer remain within us or without us. " And every man that hath this hope towards Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure," — purifieth himself, not indeed by himself alone, but by believing in Him, and calling on Him who sanctifieth His saints;